Babri prosecution will not be safe in CBI hands unless SC monitors its work

Last month, the Supreme Court decided that senior BJP leaders like L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and others must be tried for the charge of conspiring to demolish the Babri Masjid and ordered that their trial in Lucknow be held on a day-to-day basis. On May 30, Advani and the others were granted bail by the trial court on sureties of Rs 20,000.

Though the Supreme Court has fixed a period of two years for the trial’s completion, this is unlikely to happen unless the apex court directly supervises matters and also monitors the role of the CBI – the prosecuting agency – during the course of the trial. The trial court can give its verdict only on the basis of the evidence placed before it and it is the CBI that will have to provide the evidence. Unfortunately, the CBI’s past record in this case does not inspire confidence about its impartiality. The investigating agency has already shown three different faces in this case, lending credence to the belief that it is a  ‘Cover-up Bureau of Investigation’. There are many instances to prove this charge and even the apex court had described the CBI as a “caged parrot”.

CBI, phase I, face 1

The role of the CBI at different stages of the Ayodhya case has been questionable. In the first trial in the court of additional sessions judge (Ayodhya episode), Lucknow, Jagdish Prasad Srivastva, the CBI went all out to put the facts in evidence for framing of charges against the accused persons including Advani, Joshi and others for delivering speeches and conspiring to demolish the Babri Masjid. In para 36 of his order dated September 9, 1997, the judge, on the basis of evidence provided by the CBI, gave details of the role of Advani and Joshi, and how they started their rath yatra. “On December 1, 1992, Advani said in Kanpur that kar sewa does not mean bhajan and kirtan but it is meant for starting construction of Ram Mandir.” At para 9, the order said:

"On December 5, 1992 a secret meeting was held at the residence of  Vinay Katyar, which was attended by Advani and Pawan Kumar Pandey and a final decision to demolish disputed structure was taken. Their argument was that there was a ban on construction not on demolition. Thus the accused leaders assembled near Ram Janam Bhoomi/ Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, and Advani categorically said in his public speech, before the demolition of disputed structure that ‘today is the last day of kar sewa, kar sewaks would perform last kar sewa’. When he came to know that central forces were proceeding from Faizabad to Ayodhya, he asked the public to block the National  Highway, so that the forces do not reach Ram Janam Bhoomi.  Prosecution has also contended that when disputed structure was being pulled down,. Advani asked Kalyan Singh not to tender his resignation till the disputed structure is completely pulled down."
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