The Hindu : Opinion / Editorials : Putting the trial back on course

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Friday, Jul 08, 2005

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Putting the trial back on course

By setting aside the Rae Bareli court's legally convoluted September 2003 order, which discharged Bharatiya Janata Party President L.K. Advani in one of the Babri Masjid demolition cases, the Allahabad High Court has put the trial back on its original and proper course. The Special Judicial Magistrate's order which inexplicably discharged Mr. Advani while framing charges against seven other Sangh Parivar heavyweights was a ruling that precluded a full-scale trial in an important and politically sensitive case. The Rae Bareli court had failed to provide a convincing reason why the grounds on which charges were framed against people such as the former Union Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi, and the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Uma Bharti, did not apply in Mr. Advani's case. The court's conclusion that the charges against the former Deputy Prime Minister alone remained at the mere level of "suspicion" was based on a misinterpretation of the testimonies by witnesses. As a result, the distinction it drew between Mr. Advani and the other accused such as Ashok Singhal, Vinay Katiyar, and Sadhvi Rithambara was wholly unpersuasive. The Central Bureau of Investigation's charge sheet against the eight Sangh Parivar leaders revolves around a meeting that was held in Ayodhya on the morning of December 6, 1992, a few hours before the Babri Masjid was demolished. The eight accused were charged with making inflammatory speeches under various sections of the Indian Penal Code that relate to wanton provocation, promotion of enmity, public mischief, and unlawful assembly.

In relative terms, this is the less serious case against the eight Sangh Parivar leaders in connection with the shameful destruction of the Babri mosque. The main case of a criminal conspiracy to demolish the masjid has been held up due to a slew of reasons — some procedural and some political. Following the Rae Bareli court's discharge order, the BJP attempted to mislead the public by making out that Mr. Advani had been `exonerated' in the Babri Masjid demolition case. This piece of political whitewashing has now come a full circle with the Allahabad High Court's ruling, as a result of which he will undergo trial. The ruling, which was delivered on a criminal revision petition filed by two individuals against the order of the Rae Bareli court, has thoroughly exposed the CBI. The investigating agency, which the High Court indicated had played a questionable role in this entire matter, failed to file a petition seeking the quashing of the discharge order within the three month limitation period. Ironically, even as it discharged Mr. Advani, the Rae Bareli court had suggested that the investigating agency had weakened the case against him. Now that the roadblocks have been cleared for trial in one of the Babri Masjid cases, it is imperative, as the High Court has directed, that the process is completed and the case disposed of as expeditiously as possible.

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