Ayodhya: CBI may file revision petition

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JUNE 18. The Central Bureau of Investigation is likely to file a revision petition this week against the May 4 judgment of the Special Court in Lucknow, putting on hold the trial of 21 accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case, including the Union Ministers, Mr. L. K. Advani, Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, and Ms. Uma Bharti, several Shiv Sena and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders.

The CBI has veered round to the view that the Special Court had arbitrarily dropped proceedings against Mr. Advani and 20 others in the 1992 demolition case. Sources said the agency felt it had no option except to file a revision petition in Lucknow. It would be filed in a day or two.

Sources said the agency had also written to the Uttar Pradesh Government to rectify the ``defects'' in the notification. In its February 8 order, the Allahabad High Court had held that the second notification - issued by the State Government referring to the special CBI court for trial of case no. 198 of 1992 registered in Ayodhya - was faulty and that the court could not proceed against the eight accused who had challenged their trial until a rectified notification was issued.

Emphasising that it is under the exclusive zone of the State Government to issue another notification, the CBI has sought to impress upon the former to issue a fresh notification which did not suffer from such a defect.

As a result of the Special CBI judge, Mr. S.K.Shukla's May 4 order, others who got an immediate reprieve included the former Chief Minister, Mr. Kalyan Singh, the VHP leaders, Mr. Ashok Singhal, Mr. Giriraj Kishore, Sadhvi Rithambara, Paramhans Ramchandra Das and Shiv Sena leaders, Mr. Bal Thackeray and Mr. Moreshwar Save.

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