The Hindu : CPI hails SC order on Babri Masjid case

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 01, 2002

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National

CPI hails SC order on Babri Masjid case

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI NOV. 30. The CPI has welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court ordering the prosecution of the Deputy Prime Minister and other Union Ministers including Uma Bharati and Murli Manohar Joshi in the Babri Masjid demolition case. The court accepted on Friday the Uttar Pradesh Government's notification ordering a fresh trial at a special court in Rae Bareli.

The CPI said in a statement that though this would be a completely new prosecution, "the law must take its own course, in the case where these highly-placed persons are involved and they should not be allowed to go scot-free on a technical ground''.

The Babri Masjid Movement Coordination Committee said today that the "imperatives of justice are not served by the order of the Supreme Court''. In a statement, the BMMCC convener, Syed Shahbuddin, said the order protected BJP and VHP leaders "from the clutches of the law as the order neither protects the proceedings of the case in Lucknow nor instructs the special court, Rae Bareli, to act with due despatch''.

He said the BMMCC also hoped that since the accused claimed to be innocent and were in public life they should cooperate with the prosecution and not take advantage of technicalities to hinder the trial.

Mr. Shahbuddin also called the CBI to "expeditiously initiate the proceedings against the accused in the Rae Bareli special court''.

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