LK Advani

New Delhi, March 4: L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and 19 other Babri accused are back under the scanner for possible criminal conspiracy charges, which they had escaped on a technicality under a trial court ruling 10 years ago.

The Supreme Court today issued notices to these 21 politicians, who include Bal Thackeray and Uma Bharti, giving them four weeks to explain their stands on a CBI plea to restore the conspiracy charges.

However, the court gave an earful to the CBI while hearing the agency’s appeal against last May’s Allahabad High Court verdict that upheld the Rae Bareli trial court’s reprieve to these accused.

The two-judge bench wondered why the agency had done nothing for 10 years about issuing a notification to replace an earlier one that had led to the criminal conspiracy charges being dropped on technical grounds.

The crux of the matter is that the FIR against the 21 Sangh parivar leaders had not slapped Section 120B of the penal code, which deals with criminal conspiracy, whereas the CBI chargesheet did. They now only face charges like wrongful assembly and inciting riots.

“Why has Uttar Pradesh not issued a notification to cure the defect pointed out by the high court? Ten years have passed. Why haven’t you done it,” the court asked the CBI.

At one point, the judges said: “With what face are you coming here?”

The court kept saying the appeal would merely delay the trials going on in special courts in Lucknow and Rae Bareli. It asked CBI counsel Gopal Subramanium why the agency needed to appeal the high court order when it could have filed an extra chargesheet in the Rae Bareli court, adding the charge of criminal conspiracy.

“What prevents you from filing a supplementary chargesheet or adding these charges?”

The bench said that if it admitted the appeal, “it would only delay the trial, as it would mean a de novo (fresh) trial of these leaders”. However, the court finally shed its reluctance and issued the notices.

The 21 reprieved politicians include past and present BJP and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders Kalyan Singh, Vinay Katiyar, Ashok Singhal, Giriraj Kishore, Vishnu Hari Dalmiya, Sadhvi Rithambara, Mahanta Avaidyanath, Ram Vilas Vedanti, Paramhansa Ramachandra Das, Muni Maharaj, Baikuntal Sharma Prem, Mahanta Nritya Gopal Das, Dharam Das, Mureshwar Save, Satish Pradhan and Champat Rai.

This is how they escaped Section 120B:

Two FIRs were lodged after the 1992 demolition. The first, No. 197, was against those who actually demolished the mosque (the kar sevaks) and the other, No. 198, against those who allegedly instigated the mob from a distance (the political leaders).

The cases were initially investigated together, and the CBI filed a consolidated chargesheet. But later, the cases were split, with No. 197 being tried in Lucknow and No. 198 in Rae Bareli. FIR 197 had Section 120B against all the 28 accused, but FIR 198 did not.

On May 4, 2001, a trial judge rejected the CBI’s attempts to slap Section 120B against those named in FIR 198. On May 20 last year, the high court upheld the trial court order, prompting the CBI to appeal in the apex court on February 18 this year.

The appeal said the separation of the trial was “unjustified” and legally “untenable” since the “offences form part of the same transaction”. It said the offence of criminal conspiracy ran “like a common thread against all accused persons”.

The charges faced by the kar sevaks include dacoity, causing grievous hurt, endangering others’ lives or safety, defiling a place of worship, insulting a religion and promoting enmity between groups.