SC Adjourns Babri Masjid Demolition Case Hearing for Two Weeks

BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti have been accused in the Babri Masjid demolition.

SC Adjourns Babri Demolition Case Hearing for Two Weeks

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked BJP leaders LK Advani, MM Joshi and other accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case to give their written submissions and adjourned the matter for two weeks.

A bench comprising Justices PC Ghose and RF Nariman asked all the parties in the case to file their written arguments by 6 April and posted the matter for further hearing on 7 April.

At the start of the hearing, senior advocate KK Venugopal, appearing for the BJP leaders, sought permission from the court for appearing before another bench in a part-heard matter.

The bench allowed Venugopal's plea but said that the parties should file their written submissions in the case before the next date of the hearing.

SC to Re-examine Charges Against BJP Leaders Today

The Supreme Court adjourned the hearing of the Babri Masjid demolition case till Thursday. Senior BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and a few others have been charged with criminal conspiracy.

The CBI had made a plea against Allahabad High Court’s order that dropped the charges of criminal conspiracy against the BJP leaders. The investigating agency had slapped charges 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.

SC Suggests Out-of-Court Resolution in Ayodhya Dispute

On Tuesday, a SC bench headed by CJI Khehar suggested an out-of-court settlement among the parties, to a plea that BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy had made seeking an urgent hearing on the Ram Mandir dispute.

The ruling BJP welcomed the apex court's suggestion, insisting that the parties to the case should keep in mind its "sensitivity", while the Congress was guarded in its response, saying there should be a "consensus-based" solution or the SC adjudicate the matter on merit.

Babri Masjid Committee Sceptical

Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said:

If all stakeholders on both sides can arrive at a mutually acceptable consensus-based solution, it will go a long way in ensuring lasting peace, goodwill, mutual respect and brotherhood. Otherwise, the Supreme Court should adjudicate the issue on merit.

Muslim organisations, including the Babri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC), which is a party to the case, were sceptical about the Supreme Court's suggestion, saying attempts at out-of-court settlement in the past have been unsuccessful.

We are ready with Chief Justice (of India) mediating... We trust him. We are also ready if he nominates a team for hearing the matter. But out of court settlement is not possible. If SC passes an order in this regard, we will look into it

Zafaryab Jilani, Convenor of Babri Masjid Action Committee

Jilani said that going by the past experience, he feels that the matter cannot be settled outside the court and referred to unsuccessful negotiation attempts made during the tenures of former prime ministers Chandra Shekhar and PV Narasimha Rao.