NEW DELHI: It was the Allahabad High Court, and not the Government, that put a question mark on the functioning of the Central Bureau of Investigation in its handling of the Babri Masjid demolition case.

It was in the context of the strictures passed by the Lucknow Bench on July 6, 2005 that the Government sought information from the CBI, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi said on Thursday.

"The Government seeking information in the light of serious observations by a High Court can by no stretch of imagination be construed as interference in investigation."

Mr. Dasmunsi was addressing reporters here after the Bharatiya Janata Party stalled proceedings in Parliament, charging the Government with "interfering" in the working of the CBI. He quoted the court, which said "the role of the CBI cannot be said to be unquestionable" and advised the agency "to introspect and decide if it has lived up to its reputation and if any remedial action is required in its functioning to avoid criticism..."

Mr. Dasmunsi said the High Court in fact faulted the CBI for not properly placing the facts of the case, in which Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani is an accused, before the Rae Bareli court, which discharged him in September 2003. It was the High Court which effectively reopened the criminal case against him, setting aside the discharge order.

After the High Court passed strictures on the CBI, the Government was duty-bound to enquire from the agency what happened and why. The Prime Minister would be posted with the latest position, Mr. Dasmunsi said.

Mr. Dasmunsi recalled that after the Rae Bareli court's discharge order he wrote to the then Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, demanding to know what had happened and the CBI's role. "I say with the full authority at my command that Mr. Vajpayee sought information from the CBI and I was given the information unofficially."

Mr. Dasmunsi said: "If Mr. Vajpayee had the right to know from the CBI what transpired at Rae Bareli, this Government also had the duty to find out whether or not the CBI acted independently."

Separately, Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said that it was under the National Democratic Alliance Government that the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister (Advani) was absolved of all charges. And it was the High Court, and not the Manmohan Singh Government, which ordered the reopening of the case. "It is the BJP that should explain why and how an accused was declared innocent and no appeal was filed."

As for a thorough discussion on the issues involved, both the Parliamentary Affairs Minister and Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee asserted that the Government always said it was ready and willing to discuss any matter permitted under the rules of procedure.

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