Babri Demolition: SC Seeks Written Submissions

Supreme Court today adjourned the hearing in Babri Masjid demolition criminal case against several BJP and Hindu right wing leaders for two weeks.

This was after senior lawyer K K Venugopal appearing for some top BJP leaders sought an adjournment saying he will not have time for lengthy arguments as he is stuck in some other matter in another court.

The case will now be taken up on April 6.

The bench of Justices P C Ghose and Rohinton Nariman meanwhile asked all parties to file written submissions in the matter.

On March 6, the date of earlier hearing, the court had asked CBI why conspiracy charges cannot be restored against BJP and RSS leaders L K Advani, Murali Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, Kalyan Singh, Vinay Katiyar and 15 other leaders . It had also hinted that it would club the two separate hearings going on in Rae Bareli and Lucknow courts.

CBI had charge sheeted Advani and 20 others under sections 153A (promoting enmity between classes), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 505 (false statements, rumours etc.circulated with the intent to cause mutiny or disturb public peace) of the IPC.

It had subsequently added charges under section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC which was quashed by the special court whose decision was upheld by the Allahabad High Court.

The special court had dropped framing of charges by the Lucknow court on a technical ground that the court was not set up as per a proper notification by the government.

CBI challenged in SC on May 21, 2010 the order of HC dropping conspiracy charges.

The court is also hearing a separate petition filed by one Haji Mahboob Ahmad, President of Mahafiz-Masjid-Wa-Maqabir’ and Muddai Babri Masjid which claimed that with the BJP regime and a “participant” Rajnath Singh as Home Minister, CBI, the original petitioner against dropping of criminal conspiracy charges may not press for its restoration.