The Supreme Court has issued notice to L K Advani and 19 other leaders of BJP on a plea against dropping off conspiracy charges against them in Babri mosque demolition case. Supreme Court will take up on April 1 for final hearing the CBI’s appeal challenging 2010 Allahabad High Court verdict in the demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992. Supreme Court has granted four weeks time to CBI and other BJP leaders to respond to the plea. This is the first instance of hearing the case after formation of the Narendra Modi government. L K Advani and 19 other senior leaders of BJP and Hindu outfits have been issued the notice with the charges of criminal conspiracy. The other BJP senior leaders include M M Joshi, Vinay Katiyar, Uma Bharti and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh, and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders Ashok Singhal, Giriraj Kishore, Hari Dalmiya, Sadhvi Ritambrara, and Mahant Avaidyanath. CBI will file the affidavit within three weeks of notice. This case has been listed 23 times before in the court. Though the matter is pending before the apex court since March 3, 2011, but it for the first time it is coming up for hearing after formation of the Narendra Modi government triggering speculation whether there would be any shift in the stand of the government from the one taken by the UPA government.
