Advani to file revision plea

By J. Venkatesan

NEW DELHI, FEB. 18. With pressure mounting on the Uttar Pradesh Government to issue a fresh notification rectifying the defect pointed out by the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court to pave the way for a trial in the Babri Masjid demolition case, the Union Home Minister, Mr. L. K. Advani, and others have decided to file revision petitions in the High Court to get their names cleared of the charges.

Indicating this in Lucknow on Saturday, counsel for Mr. Advani and others said the High Court order left them with no other option as the criminal charges against the eight accused stood unchanged.

It should be noted that the Union Ministers, Mr. Advani, Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi and Ms. Uma Bharti, and others did not file revision petitions challenging the framing of charges against them. But after the quashing of the notification pertaining to the transfer of the second FIR from the regular sessions court to the CBI special court, they wanted to take advantage of the order and seek to get their names deleted from the chargesheet.

According to legal experts, the fact that Mr. Advani, Dr. Joshi, Ms. Bharti, and five others are contemplating moving the court would show that they have not been absolved by the High Court while quashing the notification.

The charges were framed against the eight accused by the special court in September 1997 on the basis of both the FIRs (197/92 and 198/92). And the first FIR, while not naming the accused, dealt with conspiracy, demolition, rioting, inflammatory speeches etc. of the political leaders. As Mr. Advani and others would come within the ambit of this FIR, they would have to face trial for the said offences.

Mr. P.S. Mishra, former Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh and Kolkata High Courts, found fault with the High Court for quashing the notification on technical grounds. Once the court found it was a curable defect, there was no reason the notification should be struck down.

According to Mr. Jaspal Singh, retired Delhi High Court judge, the State Government has no other option but to issue a fresh notification to take the criminal proceedings to its logical end. As there is a single chargesheet against the accused, the defect has to be rectified immediately to allow the trial to go on.

Mr. M. N. Krishnamani, vice-president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, however, feels there is nothing wrong if the State Government takes a view that the issuance of a fresh notification is barred by the law of limitation as the punishment for the offences alleged in the second FIR is less than three years.

Mr. P.P. Rao, senior Supreme Court lawyer, says a public interest petition can be filed in the Allahabad High Court seeking a direction to the State Government to issue a fresh notification.

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