Proceed With Trial of All Accused in Ayodhya Case

Date: 
Saturday, May 5, 2001

Press Statement

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:

Proceed With Trial of All Accused in Ayodhya Case

The proceedings against 21 of the accused persons, including three Union ministers, in the Babri Masjid demolition case has been put on hold by the Special Court. The Court has made it clear that proceedings can go on only after the U.P government rectifies the technical defect in the notification issued earlier.

The U.P government's failure to do so, only highlights how the BJP-led government is trying to protect the three Union ministers and other important leaders of the BJP-RSS combine. The U.P. government cannot obstruct the course of justice. It must immediately issue a fresh notification to rectify the technical defect in the procedure followed in the earlier notification.

The High Court judgement on which basis the Special Court has taken the current decision did not question the substance of the charges and had made it clear that the trial should proceed. The Central government should take immediate steps to ensure that the case proceeds against all those chargesheeted by the CBI. Any attempt to subvert or delay the court proceedings against all the accused will not be acceptable to the people of the country.