In a respite to L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and 19 others in the Babri Masjid demolition case, the Allahabad High Court today dismissed CBI's revision petition challenging a special court decision to drop criminal proceedings against them.
The CBI had sought a direction for continuing proceedings against BJP leaders Advani and Joshi, Uma Bharti, former UP chief minister Kalyan Singh and others in connection with the demolition of the mosque on December 6, 1992.
In his 44-page judgement, Justice Alok Kumar Singh of the Lucknow bench of the High Court said, "...Nothing is found against the correctness, legality, propriety or regularity in respect of any of the findings of the lower court". "There is no embellishment in the impugned order dated May 4, 2001 neither on factual or legal matrix. Hence there is no occasion for this court to make any interference in the impugned order," the court said.
VHP leader Ashok Singhal and Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray were among the 21 who were given relief by the special court.
On May 4, 2001, the special court had dropped the conspiracy charge against Advani and the others.
The court today also partly allowed another petition filed by the then District Magistrate, Faizabad, Ravindra Nath Srivastava.
It directed the CBI to indicate at the earliest as to the witnesses and documentary evidence it proposes to take up against the petitioner, so that he may not be deprived from effectively preparing and putting up his defence.
Srivastava had also contended that he could not be treated as an accused in this case. However, the court said that this point was not acceptable. Reacting to the High Court's decision, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board said the CBI should move the apex court.
Board member Zafaryab Jilani claimed that the central government and the CBI were not endeavouring to get expeditiously disposed of the cases in the demolition case pending in the Lucknow and Rae Bareli courts.PTI
