Babri Masjid case: Court exempts Advani, Joshi, Bharti from personal appearance
BJP stalwarts L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Union minister Uma Bharti will not have to attend the day-to-day trial in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case, with a CBI special court on Wednesday exempting them from personal appearance.
CBI special judge S K Yadav passed the order on applications moved by former deputy prime minister Advani (89), ex-Union minister Joshi (83) and Bharti (58) seeking exemption from personal appearance on different grounds.
Allowing the plea, the court, however, said the trio would have to appear before it as and when directed.
Counsel for the BJP leaders had cited old age of Advani and Joshi, and extensive travel by Bharti as reasons for their inability to appear before the court daily during the trial. They had been granted a similar relief during the trial proceedings in the case in Raebareli.
The Supreme Court had on April 19 transferred to Lucknow the Raebareli case for a joint trial in the two cases relating to the demolition.
There are 34 accused in the case and the CBI court is conducting the day-to-day trial on the direction of the apex court.
During Wednesday’s proceedings, the CBI got a prosecution witness, Ramakant Dubey, discharged on the ground that it did not require him for recording of evidence.
The special court had on May 30 framed the serious criminal conspiracy charge against Advani, Joshi, Bharti and nine others and allowed the prosecution to begin the trial.
Their application for discharge from the offence was rejected by judge Yadav.
The court had also granted them bail on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 each.
The Supreme Court had on April 19 also directed that the trial in the demolition case be completed within two years.
It had ordered the restoration of the conspiracy charge against the three leaders. This charge against them had been dropped by a trial court in 2001 and the verdict had been upheld by the Allahabad High Court in 2010.
Besides the three senior BJP leaders, party MP Vinay Katiyar, one-time Hindutva firebrand Sadhvi Rithambara, VHP’s Vishnu Hari Dalmiya, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, Mahant Dharam Das Maharaj, Ram Vilas Vedanti, Champat Rai Bansal, Baikunth Lal Sharma and Shiv Sena leader Satish Pradhan are the other accused against whom charges have been framed by the special court.