A special court hearing the Babri Masjid demolition cases in Rae Bareli against BJP leaders LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi along with six others on Saturday fixed May 9 for further hearing on the matter.
Special Judge VK Singh posted the matter for May 9 after hearing the CBI counsel PK Chaubey on the defence applications challenging the authority of the investigating agency to prosecute the matter.
Chaubey, citing several Supreme Court and High Court rulings, argued that CBI was fully competent to launch prosecution.
The defence, had on the last hearing, challenged the CBI's right to prosecute and pleaded that it was only an investigative agency.
Besides Advani and Joshi, former Union Minister Uma Bharti, BJP national general secretary Vinay Katiyar, VHP leaders Ashok Singhal, Acharya Giriraj Kishore and Vishnu Hari Dalmiya and Sadhvi Ritambhara are facing charges in the matter.