Babri demolition report likely to be tabled in Parliament on Dec 22

The report of the Liberhan Commission, which probed the 1992 demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, is expected to be tabled in Parliament on December 22, the last day of the Winter Session.

The report, the contents of which are so far not known, was submitted to prime minister Manmohan Singh on June 30 by Retd justice MS Liberhan in presence of home minister P Chidambaram, who had earlier said it would be tabled in Parliament within six months.

"The report is likely to be tabled in the Parliament on December 22," a home ministry official said. Set up within ten days of the demolition of Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, to inquire into the circumstances leading to the incident, the panel has become the country's longest serving Commission of Enquiry with 48 extension.

The probe panel became one of the costliest Commissions, having spent nearly Rs8 crore. The bulk of the amount was spent on salaries and perks of the supporting staff.

During the extended proceedings spread over 400 sittings, the Commission recorded the statements of senior BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and then chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Kalyan Singh.