The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday filed an application before special CBI court (Ayodhya case) seeking an order for producing former Rajasthan governor Kalyan Singh in the court in the Babri masjid demolition case.
However, district judge and special CBI judge (Ayodhya case) SK Yadav directed the CBI to produce written proof before the court that Kalyan Singh was no more governor of Rajasthan and did not hold any constitutional post, and adjourned the matter for next hearing on September 11.
It may be pointed out that Kalyan had immunity from the ongoing criminal proceedings in the Babri masjid case as he was governor of Rajasthan. But on September 3, Singh’s tenure as governor ended and he formally handed over the charge to Kalraj Mishra on September 8 and reached Lucknow on Monday.
“The court has ordered the CBI to produce written proof to verify that Kalyan Singh is no more governor of Rajasthan,” said lawyer KK Mishra, who is representing several BJP leaders in the case.
On April 1, 2017, the Supreme Court had given the judge two years to complete the trial after it revived criminal conspiracy charges against senior BJP leaders, including LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti, in the case.
On July 19 last, the Supreme Court had set a nine-month deadline for the special CBI court in Lucknow to pronounce the final verdict in the December 1992 Babri masjid demolition case and extended the tenure of the special CBI judge hearing it till the trial gets over.