SC pulls up CBI in Babri Masjid demolition case

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has slammed CBI for dragging its feet on appealing against an order dropping charges of criminal conspiracy against several BJP leaders, including party veteran LK Advani, in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case, and for terming the demolition as ‘national crime’. “Till the trial court decides, we can’t be calling it a national crime,” a two-judge bench, led by Justice HL Dattu, told CBI counsel PP Rao on Thursday. The agency’s description of the demolition as a national crime came amid a renewed attempt by BJP to revive the issue of erecting the proposed Ram temple at the site in Ayodhya in the run-up to the next general elections.

“The incident is very serious. The incident occurred in 1992 and now we are in 2013; it is more than two decades. It is a national crime and is a matter of national importance,” Rao contended, only to be ticked off by the court. The SC also pointed out that CBI had taken too long in filing an appeal.