Press Trust of India
Lucknow, May 24: A special CBI court hearing the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition cases is likely to frame additional charges Thursday against BJP leader L K Advani and other accused after the Supreme Court ordered restoring of the serious criminal conspiracy offence against them.
The court Wednesday granted bail to former Shiv Sena MP Satish Pradhan after he surrendered here in another Babri Masjid demolition case. Special CBI court judge S K Yadav granted him bail on two sureties of Rs 20,000 each and a personal bond of the same amount.
Pradhan appeared in the court and moved a surrender application, which was allowed and he was sent to judicial custody, special public prosecutor CBI Lalit Kumar Singh. The special court here, which began day-to-day hearing in the politically sensitive case on May 20 after a Supreme Court direction, had earlier granted bail to five VHP leaders in this case.
Besides Ram Vilas Vedanti (59), those who were granted relief by the CBI court Saturday were VHP leaders Champat Rai (71), Baikunth Lal Sharma (88), Mahant Nritya Gopal Das (79) and Dharmdas Maharaj (68). The Supreme Court had April 19 directed that Advani, Union Minister Uma Bharti and BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi will face trial on conspiracy charges.
The apex court had dubbed the demolition of the medieval era monument as a “crime” which shook the “secular fabric of the Constitution” and allowed CBI’s plea on restoration of serious offence of criminal conspiracy against the VVIP accused. The apex court had also come down heavily on the CBI for the delay of 25 years in the trial. Issuing a slew of directions, the apex court had said the proceedings in the case against Advani and five others in the court of the special judicial magistrate at Raebareli will be transferred to the court of additional session’s judge at Lucknow.
Besides the BJP three leaders, the conspiracy charge would now be invoked against Vinay Katiar, Sadhvi Ritambara and Vishnu Hari Dalmia, who were being tried at Raebareli. There shall be no fresh trial. There shall be no transfer of the judge conducting the trial until the entire trial concludes. The case shall not be adjourned on any ground except when the sessions court finds it impossible to carry on the trial for that particular date, it had said.
