NEW DELHI: Trial in more than 25 year-old Babri Masjid demolition case against top BJP leaders L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and others encountered fresh uncertainty as the trial judge at Lucknow, who is scheduled to retire on September 30, informed the Supreme Court on Monday that six more months would be required to conclude the proceedings.

District & sessions judge Surendra Kumar Yadav, who was in 2017 given the task by the apex court to complete the trial within two years, wrote to Supreme Court and informed it that the proceedings is at fag end but he needed six months more to wrap up the proceedings. He, however, said that there is a roadblock in concluding the trial as he is to retire on September 30. If the trial is not completed by Yadav who is presiding a special court, a new judge will be appointed to hear the case leading to delay in completion of the trial.

Taking note of the letter, a bench of Justices R F Nariman and Surya Kant said that some mechanism has to be formed to find a way out to ensure that the judge remained in office till the trial is concluded and judgment is pronounced. It asked additional advocate general of Uttar Pradesh government Aishwarya Bhati to find out rules and regulation under which the judge could be allowed to complete the trial even after retirement.

“We want you to devise means so that he (the judge) completes the trial. Find some way out and assist us on the issue,” the bench told Bhati. The court posted the hearing for July 19.

The apex court in April 2017 directed joint trail against all accused including top BJP leaders involved in Babri Masjid demolition case and directed transfer of case pending in Rae Bareilly to a special court in Lucknow. In the Rae Bareilly case, the BJP and Sangh Parivar leaders were accused of having given speeches to promote enmity. The Lucknow case, investigated by the CBI, is against “lakhs of unknown kar sevaks” and deals with the demolition and violence.

The court had also revived criminal conspiracy charges against BJP and Sangh Parivar leaders in connection with the demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992 and fixed two years deadline for Court of Sessions in Lucknow to complete the proceedings and deliver its verdict after holding day-to-day hearing.

“The case shall not be adjourned on any ground except when the Sessions Court finds it impossible to carry on the trial for that particular date. In such an event, on grant of adjournment to the next day or a closely proximate date, reasons for the same shall be recorded in writing,” the court had said.

Facing herculean task to meet the deadline, the trial judge holds a day-to-day hearing during which more than 500 witnesses were examined and the proceedings reached at an advanced stage in the last two years and he now assured the apex court to deliver the verdict in next six months.

The trial proceedings were going on at snails speed for 24 years as the case was getting adjourned on various grounds. The hearing got adjourned for 101 times in 2016 but the proceeding got fast-tracked after SC’s intervention.

