Babri case: SC restores criminal conspiracy charges against Advani, Joshi

Senior BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and others will be tried

BJP leaders L K Advani, M M Joshi and Uma Bharti will face trial in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case as the Supreme Court today allowed the CBI plea and restored criminal conspiracy charges against them.

The court also clubbed the trial in the matter pending against the leaders and 'karsevaks' and said the proceedings should be completed in two years.

"We have allowed the CBI appeal against the Allahabad High Court judgement with certain directions," a bench comprising Justices P C Ghose and R F Nariman said.

The apex court, however, noted that Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh enjoys Constitutional immunity and can be tried only after he ceases to hold the office. Kalyan Singh was the chief minister of UP in 1992.

Also Read : Babri masjid: SC rules Advani, Joshi to be tried under criminal conspiracy

The court also gave significant directions including that separate trials being conducted in trial courts at Raebareli and Lucknow will be clubbed and conducted in the capital of Uttar Pradesh only.

It also said that the trial judge of Lucknow "shall not be transferred" till conclusion and delivery of judgement in the sensational case.

The court further said that no party shall be granted adjournment without the sessions judge being satisfied of the reasons for it and conduct day-to-day trial which should be concluded within two years.

It also directed probe agency CBI to ensure that prosecution witnesses appear on each and every date for recording of evidence in the case and the trial court should start the proceedings within four weeks from today.

It, however, clarified that there would be no de novo (fresh) trial in the matter.(readmore…)

PMO stamp in Cabinet rejig

PMO stamp in Cabinet rejig

Among many political, administrative and ideological messages in the changes in the council of ministers that Prime Minister Narendra Modi carried out, the most important was the unambiguous stamp of his office.

The sweep of influence of the Prime Minister’s Office in Tuesday’s rejig was rarely witnessed in the past three decades.

In expanding this influence of the central government, the PM was assisted by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah.

The changes in the Cabinet worked at several levels.

They were definitely done with an eye on electoral compulsions — Dalits and Other Backward Classes found increased representation. New ministers were inducted from states that are either electorally crucial for the BJP (Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat) or are going to polls in the near future (Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh).

Also, alliance building was kept in mind. Allies like Republican Party of India (A)’s Ramdas Athawale and Apna Dal’s Anupriya Patel were made ministers.

There was an effort for more efficient political management, not only to reach out to Opposition parties but other stakeholders, like the media, as well as assuage different camps within the BJP.

A straight-talking M Venkaiah Naidu was made in charge of the information and broadcasting ministry, while Arun Jaitley, seen as a liberal voice in the Sangh Parivar and the party, was divested of that portfolio. Read more.

Former Speaker Balram Jakhar passes away

Veteran Congress leader Balram Jakhar passed away today. Jakhar, 92, was a farmer leader who became a household name during his stint as the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 1980 to 1989. He was also the agriculture minister in the PV Narasimha Rao government and was later the Governor of Madhya Pradesh during the tenure of UPA 1 government.

His stint as the Speaker, the longest ever for any occupant of the chair till date, witnessed several changes in the working of the Lok Sabha. His contribution to improvements in the Parliament library, reference, and documentation and information service for the use of Members of Parliament is still remembered.

Born on August 23, 1923 at Panjkosi village in Ferozepur district of Punjab, Jakhar graduated from a college in Lahore before the partition.