NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a curative petition seeking a review of its November 2002 judgment permitting separate trials against Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha L.K. Advani and seven others in the Babri Masjid demolition case in Rae Bareli, and against kar sevaks in Lucknow.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justices B.N. Agrawal and Ashok Bhan rejected the petition filed by Aslam Bhure seeking transfer of the trial from the Rae Bareli court to the Lucknow court so that a joint trial could be held against all the accused cited in two cases.

In March 2007, the apex court rejected a review petition filed by Mr. Bhure and others. Besides Mr. Advani, the accused are the former Union Ministers Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti, and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders Ashok Shingal, Giriraj Kishore, Vishnu Hari Dalmia, Vinay Katiyar and Sadvi Ritambara. They face charges for offences under IPC Sections 147 (rioting); 149 (member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of a common object); 153 A and B (promoting enmity between different groups and imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 505 (statements to cause public mischief).

In the other trial, the conspiracy charge is included against the kar sevaks.

While rejecting the review petition, the court said: “The State government [Uttar Pradesh] in consultation with the [Allahabad] High Court has constituted a special court at Rae Bareli for trying the cases in relation to Mr. Advani and others, and no person, much less the petitioners in the public interest can claim any special court at any particular place for trial of any particular criminal case.”

The court said: “The earlier order passed by this court dismissing the SLPs does not require any reconsideration. There is no error apparent on the face of the record, nor do the facts and circumstances warrant any interference with our earlier order.”

Soon after the demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya on December 6, 1992, two first information reports were registered, viz. 197/92 (without naming the kar sevaks and later naming 47 accused) and 198/92 (against Mr. Advani and the seven others).

The special court framed charges against 47 persons in the first FIR and Mr. Advani and seven others in the second FIR. But on revision, the High Court, by an order in February 2001, quashed the charges against

Mr. Advani and others on the technical ground that the transfer of the case was made without consulting the High Court and hence it was illegal. As a result, the trial continued only against 47 persons.

Mr. Bhure filed a petition for a direction to the Uttar Pradesh government to issue a fresh notification for reviving the case against Mr. Advani and others and for another direction that the trial be held only in the Lucknow court as the CBI had filed a composite charge sheet against all the accused.

During the pendency of this matter, the Uttar Pradesh government issued a notification for conducting the trial against Mr. Advani and others at Rae Bareli and it was continuing.

On November 29, 2002, the apex court upheld the notification and disposed of the matter.

A review was sought on this judgment.

After the review plea was dismissed, the curative petition was filed.