Liberhan counsel disappointed with govt

NEW DELHI: The counsel for the Liberhan Commission, probing the demolition of the disputed structure in Ayodhya, has expressed disappointment over the Centre's voluminous submission, saying the 395-page document has no new insights to offer on what transpired on December six 1992.

 

"Despite the time taken by the Government of India to prepare its written submission, they do not provide any value addition for the commission. The lack of any serious intellectual effort on the part of the Centre to assist the commission is disturbing," commission counsel Anupam Gupta told Outlook magazine.

 

According to Gupta, the Centre relied on judgments, chargesheets filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation and depositions before the commission to build up its case that the Bharatiya Janata Party, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leaders had conspired to bring down the Babri Masjid. This was not what the commission had expected from the Centre, he said.
    
"A fundamental flaw in the submission is that the gvernment relied heavily on the criminal case," he said, according to the magazine.
    
Gupta said, "The commission cannot allow itself to be prejudiced by the criminal proceedings, nor should the perception of the commission be allowed to prejudice the
criminal trial. At stake is a fundamental principle of justice regarding the separate nature of civil and criminal jurisdiction. This principle must not be compromised at any
cost."

 

In its final written submissions before the commission, the United Progressive Alliance government held the Sangh Parivar responsible for the demolition. The government's stand was in sharp contrast to that of its predecessor, the National Democratic Alliance, which had said that it was a result of a sudden uncontrollable upsurge of kar sevaks present at Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.