NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed petitions seeking a review of its November 2002 judgment permitting the trial against the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha L.K. Advani and seven others in the Babri Masjid demolition case to proceed in a Rae Bareli court.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justices G.P. Mathur and R.V. Raveendran said one of the two petitioners, Mohd. Aslam Bhure, "is neither a complainant nor accused in any of the criminal cases filed by the State in this matter. Petitioner is an intervener who has no connection with any of the crimes registered by the police."

Writing the judgment, the Chief Justice said, "This court while disposing of the SLPs observed that the State government in consultation with the [Allahabad] High Court has constituted a special court at Rae Bareli for trying the cases in relation to Mr. Advani and others and no person, much less the petitioners, in the public interest can claim any special court at any particular place for trial of any particular criminal case."

The Bench said, "The earlier order passed by this court dismissing the SLPs does not require any reconsideration. There is no error apparent on the face of the record, nor do the facts and circumstances warrant any interference with our earlier order. The review petitions are without any merit."

Besides Mr. Advani, the accused the former Union Ministers Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti, and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders Ashok Singhal, Giriraj Kishore, Vishnu Hari Dalmia, Vinay Katiyar and Sadvi Ritambara. They face charges for offences under IPC Sections 147 (rioting); 149 (member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object); 153 A and B (promoting enmity among different groups and imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 505 (statements to cause public mischief). Soon after the demolition at Ayodhya on December 6, 1992, two first information reports were registered, 197/92 (without naming kar sevaks and later naming 47 accused) and 198/92 (against Mr. Advani and the seven others).

The special court framed charges against 47 persons in the first FIR and Mr. Advani and seven others in the second FIR. But on revision, the High Court in February 2001 quashed the charges against Mr. Advani and the others on the technical ground that the transfer of the case was made without consulting the High Court and hence illegal. As a result, the trial continued only against the 47 persons named in the first FIR.

Mr. Bhure filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court against the High Court judgment for a direction to the Uttar Pradesh government to issue a fresh notification for reviving the case against Mr. Advani and the seven others and for a direction that the trial be held only in a Lucknow court as a composite charge sheet was filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation against all the accused. During the pendency of this matter, the government issued a notification for conducting the trial against Mr. Advani and the others in Rae Bareli. On November 29, 2002, the apex court upheld the notification. A review was sought on this judgment.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail