New Delhi: A special judge holding trial in the Babri Masjid demolition case, involving BJP veterans L.K. Advani, M.M. Joshi, Uma Bharti and others, moved the Supreme Court on Monday, seeking six more months to conclude the trial.
The special judge, in a letter written in May, has informed the top court that he is due to superannuate on September 30, 2019.
Besides Advani, Joshi and Bharti, the accused against whom the conspiracy charge was invoked on April 19, 2017 by the apex court included former BJP MP Vinay Katiar and Sadhvi Ritambara. Three other high-profile accused have died.
The top court had held that Rajasthan governor Kalyan Singh, during whose tenure as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh the disputed structure was razed, is entitled to immunity under the Constitution as long as he remained in gubernatorial position.
The SC on Monday sought assistance of the Uttar Pradesh government to devise a mechanism to extend the tenure of the special judge to enable him conclude the trial in the case. A bench headed by Justice R.F. Nariman asked the Uttar Pradesh government to apprise it by July 19 about a mechanism by which the tenure of the special judge could be extended till he delivers the verdict in the high-profile case.
“The special judge after two years of virtual day-to-day hearing is at the fag end of the hearing of the case and requires little more than six months to complete the trial together with the delivery of the judgement.
“However, in his letter to us dated May 25, 2019, he has indicated that he will be superannuating on September 30, 2019. We are of the view it is important for the special judge to conclude the proceedings and pronounce the judgement in the the case. Given the facts and circumstances, we call upon the state of Uttar Pradesh to assist us on this behalf. List on Friday,” said the bench also comprising Justice Surya Kant.
The bench told senior advocate Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government, to find a “way out” and refer to the rules by which the tenure of the judge could be extended.
“You find out the mechanism and refer to the rules. If possible we can extend the tenure by exercising powers under Article 142 of the Constitution,” the bench said.
On April 19, 2017, the top court ordered day-to-day trials to be concluded in two years for the politically sensitive 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case.
While dubbing the demolition of the medieval era monument as a “crime” which shook the “secular fabric of the Constitution”, it had allowed the CBI’s plea for restoration of the criminal conspiracy charge against the VVIP accused.
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The court came down heavily on the CBI for the delay of 25 years in the trial and said, “The accused persons have not been brought to book largely because of the conduct of the CBI in not pursuing the prosecution of the aforesaid alleged offenders in a joint trial, and because of technical defects which were easily curable, but which were not cured by the state government.”
L.K. Advani is one of the high-profile accused in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi case. Photo: PTI/Files
Issuing a slew of directions, it said that “the proceedings (against Advani and five others) in the court of the Special Judicial Magistrate at Rae Bareilly will stand transferred to the Court of Additional Sessions Judge (Ayodhya Matters) at Lucknow.”
“The court of sessions will frame additional charges under Section 120-B (conspiracy) and the other provisions of the Penal Code mentioned in the joint charge sheet filed by the CBI against Champat Rai Bansal, Satish Pradhan, Dharam Das, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, Mahamadleshwar Jagdish Muni, Ram Bilas Vadanti, Vaikunth Lal Sharma and Satish Chandra Nagar,” the apex court said.
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It also said that if trial was adjourned, it should be fixed on the the next day or a closely proximate date and the reasons for it shall be recorded in writing.
The CBI said that it shall ensure that on every date fixed for recording of evidence, some prosecution witnesses must remain present so that the matter is not adjourned for want of witnesses.
The court had termed the Allahabad high court’s February 12, 2001 verdict, dropping the conspiracy charge against Advani and others, as “erroneous”.
Out of the eight VIPs accused, Giriraj Kishore and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal have died during trial and the proceedings against them have been abated.
Before the 2017 verdict of the apex court, there were two sets of cases relating to the demolition of the mosque on December 6, 1992 going on at Lucknow and Raebareli. The trial of first case involving unnamed ‘karsevaks‘ was going on in a Lucknow court, while the second set of cases relating to the eight VVIPs were going on in a Raebareli court.