The CBI on Monday, 9 September, moved a special court in Lucknow trying the Babri masjid demolition conspiracy case involving former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani and other BJP stalwarts, for summoning Kalyan Singh to stand trial in the case.
Just a few hours earlier Kalyan Singh, who was Uttar Pradesh chief minister when the mosque at the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya was demolished, rejoined the BJP at the party office after completing his term as Rajasthan governor.
The investigative agency moved the court weeks after the 87-year-old leader quit the governorship, a constitutional post which offered him immunity from the trial for conspiracy in the Babri Masjid demolition case.
The court accepted the CBI application after ascertaining from the agency that Singh, also a former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, is no longer holding any constitutional position.
As the trial is being conducted on a day-to-day basis, the CBI application may be taken up for adjudication on 11 September.
The other BJP leaders, who are facing trial in the 6 December 1992 demolition case include Muli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti.
In its application, the CBI submitted to the court that Kalyan Singh had been charge-sheeted in the case in 1993.
It added the Supreme Court in 19 April 2017 had said that Kalyan Singh, who was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh when the Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992, could not be made to face trial as an accused owing to the constitutional immunity granted to governors under the Article 361 of the Constitution.
The apex court, however, had allowed the CBI to seek his summoning as an accused as soon as he would cease to be a governor.
‘Parties Should Make Their Stand Clear on Ram Temple’
The development came on a day Singh challenged opposition parties to clarify their stand on the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya.
“Ayodhya is a sacred pilgrim spot. Construction of a temple of Lord Ram is a matter of faith for crores of people. And Lord Ram himself is a symbol of faith for crores of people of the country.”Kalyan Singh
All the accused in the case are on bail. The trial in the case is being conducted on day to day basis as per the apex court's direction.
The CBI had filed charge sheet in the case against all the accused persons including Kalyan Singh in 1993.
Singh had been appointed governor on 3 September, 2014 for a term of five years, which is now complete, the CBI said in its application.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)