Denying that the government interferes in its decision-making process and functioning, the Central Bureau of Investigation told the Supreme Court that dropping the criminal conspiracy charge against senior > BJP leaders L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi and 16 others in the Babri Masjid demolition case was not at its instance.
The CBI was responding to a petition filed by Haji Mahboob Ahmad against a 2010 order of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court dropping the criminal conspiracy charge against the BJP-VHP leaders in the demolition case.
The CBI has also challenged the >dropping of conspiracy charges. The agency in an affidavit said no ministers or political force can interfere in its strict “hierarchic” decisions in specific cases. “That a perusal of the relevant provisions of the Crime Manual ... would show that nowhere are ministers involved in any decision-making process in respect of specific cases,” the affidavit said.
The agency said that the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, only deals with its broad administerial and budgetary aspects. “The Ministry of Home Affairs does not play any role in the administrative or decision making aspects in any manner. That the allegations made by the petitioner are denied as they are wrong and incorrect.”
