Liberhan Commission submits Babri report after 17 years

It was set up within 10 days of the mosque demolition and got 48 extensions
Hardnews Bureau

The Liberhan Commission, country's longest-serving enquiry commission, probing the Babri Masjid demolition, submitted its report on Tuesday to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, 17 years after it was set up.

Justice MS Liberhan, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, submitted the report to the PM in presence of Home Minister P Chidambaram.

The commission was set up within 10 days of the demolition of the mosque on December 6, 1992 and got 48 extensions. The last extension was in March this year for three months. Originally, it was supposed to submit its report on March 16, 1993 but since then it sought repeated extensions.

Speaking to Hardnews, Dr SQR Ilyas, convenor of the Babri Masjid Action Committee, said, "The report was long delayed. But, it's better late than never. If the contents of the report are in accordance with the goals set out we welcome it and expect the government to take action."

He went on to add, "However, it is just a commission's report. We appeal that cases pending in different courts in this connection must be heard faster."

Hardnews learnt that this has been one of the costliest commissions costing about Rs eight crore. Most of the expenses was spent on salary and perks of the supporting staff. In its 400 sittings, it recorded statements of BJP leaders including LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharati and Kalyan Singh, who was the UP chief minister during the demolition which set off communal violence across the country.

The report is expected to reveal the role of senior BJP leaders including Advani, Joshi, Kalyan Singh and Uma Bharati besides several Bajrang Dal and VHP leaders. In an interview to a private news channel, Uma Bharati welcomed the commission's report but said she was unapologetic for the December 6 demolition.

The commission completed the hearing in 2005. It was mandated to enquire into the sequence of events leading to the destruction of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya. On that fateful day, kar sevaks, led by BJP, Bajrang Dal and VHP demolished the mosque. Hundreds of people died in the post-demolition communal riots across India.

The report can trigger off strong reactions in the political arena once it is made public. Justice Liberhan claimed that the report got delayed due to the 'uncooperative attitude of the witnesses'. He, however, refused to name anyone saying everything is mentioned in the report. He added that he felt 'liberated' after submitting the report.