The Hindu : Front Page : Court: no clubbing of trial against Advani, kar sevaks

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Wednesday, Feb 11, 2009
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Court: no clubbing of trial against Advani, kar sevaks

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a writ petition for consolidation of the two trials being held against leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha L.K. Advani and seven others in the Babri masjid demolition case in a Rae Bareli court, and against 47 ‘kar sevaks’ in a Lucknow court.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justices P. Sathasivam and J.M. Panchal allowed Wajahat Ansari to withdraw his petition to pursue other remedies.

Senior counsel Ravi Shankar Prasad, appearing for Mr. Advani and others, pointed out that in March 2007 the apex court rejected the review petitions filed by Mohd. Aslam Bhure and Mohd. Hasim seeking transfer of the trial from the Rae Bareli court to the Lucknow court, and hence the writ petition should not be entertained.

Justice Balakrishnan told senior counsel S.C. Maheswari, appearing for Mr. Ansari: “We cannot regulate the trial. It is for the High Court to regulate the trial pending in a trial court. You approach the High Court.”

Besides Mr. Advani, the accused in the case in the Rae Bareli court are Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, Ashok Singal, Giriraj Kishore, Vishnu Hari Dalmia, Vinay Katiyar and Sadvi Ritambara. They face charges for offences under Sections 147 (rioting), 149 (member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of a common object), 153 A and B (promoting enmity between different groups and imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), and 505 (statements to cause public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code.

In the other trial, the conspiracy charge is included against the ‘kar sevaks.’

Mr. Bhure’s special leave petition against an Allahabad High Court order and review petition had already been rejected by the Supreme Court.

The Bench allowed Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy to implead himself in the pending petitions related to the Ram temple/Babri Masjid demolition cases. He said the order of status quo passed by the apex court in 1996 and restrictions on worship hurt the people.

The Bench granted him four weeks to file a detailed affidavit.

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