New Delhi: The Supreme Court has issued notice to BJP old hand LK Advani and other leaders on a petition that asks for conspiracy charges against them in the Babri mosque demolition case. This comes a day after the BJP old hand received Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian award.
Advani and the others – MM Joshi, Uma Bharti and Kalyan Singh – have been asked to respond to the notice within four weeks.
The Allahabad High Court had earlier dropped conspiracy charges against these leaders for the 1992 razing of the 16th century Babri mosque in Ayodhya by Hindu activists.
A petition by Mehboob Ahmed, a defendant in the Ayodhya lawsuit, wanted those charges to be restored.
The court has also issued notice to the CBI, which has asked for more time to come up with its affidavit against the high court order.
Though the matter is pending before the apex court since March 3, 2011, it for the first time it came up for hearing after the 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.