SC questions CBI for delay in challenging HC order on Advani
3 April 2013 12:39 AM GMT
The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned the CBI for the delay in filing appeal against the Allahabad high court order that conspiracy charge will not apply to BJP leader LK Advani and others in the Babri Masjid demolition case.
A bench headed by Justice HL Dattu directed that an affidavit be filed within two weeks by a senior law officer of the central government after noting that the delay of 167 days was caused because of a law officer. In compliance with the apex court’s earlier order, CBI on Tuesday placed before the bench the case details in which it submitted that the delay was caused as the drafting of the appeal against the Allahabad high court verdict was pending before additional solicitor general and solicitor general for their approval and opinion.
‘In your interest it is better if an affidavit is filed,’ the court said, granting two weeks time to CBI to get the affidavit filed by the senior law officer. The bench, however, in its order did not mention the officer who would be filing the affidavit and said it should be filed by a senior law officer. The apex court was hearing CBI’s appeal challenging the verdicts of a special CBI court and the Allahabad high court dropping conspiracy charge against Advani, Kalyan Singh, Uma Bharti, Vinay Katiyar and Murli Manohar Joshi.
The CBI has challenged in the Supreme Court the 21 May, 2010 order of the high court, which had upheld a special court’s decision to drop the charge against the leaders.
The high court had at that time, however, allowed CBI to proceed with other charges against Advani and others in a Rae Bareily court, under which the case falls. The May 2010 order of the high court had said there was no merit in CBI’s revision petition against the 4 May, 2001 order of the special court which had directed dropping of criminal conspiracy charge against them. There are two sets of cases – one against Advani and others who were on the dais at Ram Katha Kunj in Ayodhya in December 1992 when the Babri Masjid was demolished, while the other case was against lakhs of unknown ‘karsevaks’ who were in and around the disputed structure.
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 IPC.
A bench headed by Justice HL Dattu directed that an affidavit be filed within two weeks by a senior law officer of the central government after noting that the delay of 167 days was caused because of a law officer. In compliance with the apex court’s earlier order, CBI on Tuesday placed before the bench the case details in which it submitted that the delay was caused as the drafting of the appeal against the Allahabad high court verdict was pending before additional solicitor general and solicitor general for their approval and opinion.
‘In your interest it is better if an affidavit is filed,’ the court said, granting two weeks time to CBI to get the affidavit filed by the senior law officer. The bench, however, in its order did not mention the officer who would be filing the affidavit and said it should be filed by a senior law officer. The apex court was hearing CBI’s appeal challenging the verdicts of a special CBI court and the Allahabad high court dropping conspiracy charge against Advani, Kalyan Singh, Uma Bharti, Vinay Katiyar and Murli Manohar Joshi.
The CBI has challenged in the Supreme Court the 21 May, 2010 order of the high court, which had upheld a special court’s decision to drop the charge against the leaders.
The high court had at that time, however, allowed CBI to proceed with other charges against Advani and others in a Rae Bareily court, under which the case falls. The May 2010 order of the high court had said there was no merit in CBI’s revision petition against the 4 May, 2001 order of the special court which had directed dropping of criminal conspiracy charge against them. There are two sets of cases – one against Advani and others who were on the dais at Ram Katha Kunj in Ayodhya in December 1992 when the Babri Masjid was demolished, while the other case was against lakhs of unknown ‘karsevaks’ who were in and around the disputed structure.
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 IPC.
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