It was the case of Babri Masjid demolition; hearing was going on in the
Supreme Court on 7 February. CBI counsel P.P. Rao challenged the decisions of
CBI Special Court and Allahabad High Court, which had dropped the charges of
conspiracy against Lal Krishna Advani, Kalyan Singh, Uma Bharti, Murli Manohar
Joshi and other accused. When Mr. Rao,
while presenting his standpoint, said this is a “national crime” – the leaders
of BJP and Vishwa Hindu Parishad committed a national crime – the Bench took a
serious notice of it, asking him not to say this word, not to say this is a
national crime or a case of national importance. The Bench said to Mr. Rao, “We are yet to decide it. Until we or trial court
decide this way or other, you can't make such statements.” (Hitvada, 8 February) The Bench also questioned
the CBI over the delay in hearings even if it deems it a case of national importance.
Mr Justice H L Dattu is heading this Bench.
The
case of national importance?
Even common citizens having an eye on
the Constitution, law of the land and the judiciary would agree that the judges
of the Apex Court have rightly said that the court has not convicted anyone in
this case as yet; so to say that these people committed a national crime is
wrong. However, the opinion of the court that this is not even a case of
national importance will have to be understood with the help of constitutional
and legal experts. Apparently, all the evidences are in favour of it being a
national crime – then President Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma having heard the news
of demolition of the mosque on 6 December 1992 burst into tears; against the
tradition he issued a very harsh statement from the Rashtrapati Bhawan against
this tragedy, condemning the demolishers of the mosque and calling it an act of
vandalism. Then Vice President K.R. Narayanan declared it as the biggest
tragedy only next to the assassination of Gandhiji. Former Prime Minister V.P.
Singh said, “They weren’t three domes of the mosque; they were the three
pillars of the State of India: Legislature, Judiciary and Executive.” In the
discussions presented by experts in the media soon after the incident, it was
referred to variously as a case of national importance – the consequences of
which would be felt nationwide. Many parties announced ‘Bharat Band’ against
this act of vandalism.
This
sensitivity is respectable but…
But however, in this case, efforts
should be made to understand the opinion of the learned judges of the Supreme
Court that “the case of Babri Masjid demolition is not a case of national
importance”. However the remark of the court that none should be called a
criminal in this case is worth consideration; the sensitivity of the judges is also
respectable. But it would have been better it these courts showed the same sensitivity
in the cases of arrest of Muslim youths on charges of terrorism; government
agencies present them as “anti-nationals” and “criminals waging a war against the
State” and the entire media carries these concocted stories with added bites
the world over. The learned judges know much better than common citizens that
all citizens are equal in the eyes of law. When the prosecution presents
someone as an accused, the judges do not see who the accused is and what
position he holds in the society. They only pronounce verdicts or pass remarks
on merit. Our learned judges do keep in view these requirements of law. But if
some citizens feel that the spirit of law has been affected in a certain case, it
is a moment of introspection for the functionaries of judiciary.
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