CJM order on CBI status on Dec 4

CHIEF JUDICIAL Magistrate (CJM) Raes Ahmad, after hearing the arguments of the defence counsel Mridul Rakesh on Babri Mosque demolition case on Tuesday, fixed December 4 as the date for pronouncing his verdict.

CHIEF JUDICIAL Magistrate (CJM) Raes Ahmad, after hearing the arguments of the defence counsel Mridul Rakesh on Babri Mosque demolition case on Tuesday, fixed December 4 as the date for pronouncing his verdict.

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The arguments of the defence counsel on the Babri mosque demolition case concluded in the CJM court.

The defence counsel pleaded that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) could not prosecute the accused in the case. Another defence counsel MS Ahluwalia, too, joined Mridul Rakesh in his pleadings. They maintained that as the State Government had registered the case, the accused could be prosecuted by a state agency and not by the CBI that was a Central Government agency. Earlier, CBI counsel P K Chaube had maintained that the premier investigating agency was entitled to prosecute the accused.

Chube cited several cases where the session court and the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court had stated that the CBI was competent enough to prosecute the accused. Chaube further said he was appointed as special prosecutor under section 24 and sub-clauses 8, and his appointment was already on the record of the CJM here.

The defence counsel sought exemption from physical appearance of the eight accused in the Babri case for today. The main accused are: former Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani, M M Joshi, Uma Bharati, Vinay Katiyar, Giriraj Kishore, V H Dlamia, Ashok Singhal and Ritambhara.