The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned the hearing in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case for two weeks stating that all respective parties should file written submissions. The apex court was on Thursday hearing the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) plea against the Allahabad High Court’s order dropping criminal conspiracy charges against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti in connection with the masjid demolition case.
The two sets of cases in the matter are – one against BJP veteran leader Advani and others, who were on the dais at Ram Katha Kunj in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992 when the Babri mosque was demolished. The other case was against lakhs of ‘karsevaks’ (volunteers) who were in and around the disputed structure.
The CBI had chargesheeted Advani and 20 others under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between classes), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 505 (false statements, rumours etc. circulated with the intent to cause mutiny or disturb public peace) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
It had subsequently invoked charges under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC, which was quashed by the special court whose decision was upheld by the high court.
