The special CBI court in Lucknow granted bail to the former UP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh in connection with the Babri demolition case on Friday. The BJP leader has been granted bail by the court on a personal bond of Rs 2 lakhs.
The ex-CM of UP had previously surrendered in court and was taken into custody. The special CBI court on Friday framed charges against Kalyan Singh in the Babri Masjid demolition case.
Singh was charged under sections 153 A (promoting enmity or feelings of hatred between different groups on the grounds of religion), 153 B (imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration), 295 (destruction, damage, or defilement of a place of worship or an object held sacred), 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or the religious beliefs) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the IPC.
On the basis of the application submitted by the CBI, the court had last week directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to produce Kalyan Singh on September 27 after the constitutional immunity he had enjoyed came to end following the end of his term as Governor of Rajasthan.
Kalyan Singh was the CM of UP when the disputed structure at the Rama Janambhumi was brought down by Karsevaks on December 6 1992. He had resigned from the post of CM taking moral responsibility for the demolition. Along with senior BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and others, Kalyan Singh was also charged with criminal conspiracy in the case. In 2001, a CBI court had dropped the criminal conspiracy charges, against the accused, and that verdict was upheld by the Allahabad High Court.
In 2017 the Supreme Court had ordered the restoration of criminal conspiracy charges again, terming the High Court judgement dropping the charges as “erroneous”. In July this year, the apex court had asked the special court to complete the trial in the case within nine months.
Kalyan Singh was appointed as governor of Rajasthan in September 2014, which had given him immunity from prosecution under Article 361 of the constitution. His term ended on September 9, and he had joined the BJP on the same day. CBI also didn’t delay in taking action against him as the case is to be concluded within the deadline given by the Supreme Court. While ordering the restoration of the case in 2017, the apex court had noted that Kalyan Singh can be tried in the case only after he ceases to be governor.