Liberhan Commission submits report to PM

New Delhi, Jun 30 (PTI) The Liberhan Commission that
probed the 1992 demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya Tuesday
submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh its voluminous
report which would be further processed by the Home Ministry.

"The report in four volumes with an extensive set of
annexures will now be further processed by the Home Ministry,"
the PMO said.

The report of the Commission of Enquiry, which was set up
17 years ago to probe the Ramjanambhoomi-Babri Masjid
incident, was submitted to the Prime Minister by Retd Justice
M S Liberhan in the presence of Home Minister P Chidambaram.

Chidambaram, when approached by reporters, said that he
has not read the report. He hoped that the report would be
forwarded to the Home Ministry during the course of the day.

The contents of the report were not immediately known.

"I am independent today," is what Justice Liberhan said
after submitting the report.

Refusing to divulge anything about the report, he said,
"I have submitted the report to the Prime Minister. There are
various things that I have reported in my report. You can read
it when the report is released."

Asked why the Commission, which had got 48 extensions,
took so much time to prepare its report, Justice Liberhan
blamed it on the court stay order, "procuring witness, and
non-cooperative attitude" of some people.

Liberhan said now the government will study the report
and take action accordingly and then submit the report and
action taken in the Parliament.

Stating that the report is a "privilege" of the
Parliament and hence he would not be able to specify if he has
recommended any penal punishment, he said, "can't open my
mouth for this. The report can speak when it comes out."

Asked how he felt after submitting the long awaited
report, he said, "I am independent today."

Set up within ten days of the demolition of the historic
mosque on December six, 1992, which triggered widespread
communal violence leading to heavy loss of lives, the panel
has become the country's longest serving Commission of
Enquiry.

The Commission, mandated to inquire into the
circumstances leading to the demolition of the Babri mosque,
was to submit its report by March 16, 1993 but sought repeated
extensions to complete its probe.

The last three-month extension was given in March this
year.

The probe panel was one of the costliest Commissions
having spent nearly Rs eight crore. The bulk of the amount was
spent on the salaries and perks of the supporting staff.

During the extended proceedings spread over 400
sittings, the Commission recorded the statements of senior BJP
leaders L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and the then chief
minister of Uttar Pradesh Kalyan Singh.

The panel had completed hearing the last witness in 2005.

Reacting to the development, Congress said Government
will take appropriate action on the report.

Asked whether Government would take action against
individuals if they have been pin-pointed by the Commission in
its enquiry report, party spokesman Manish Tewari said, "there
is no point in going into speculation unless it is known what
is in the report."

He, however, added that the Government will "apply its
mind" and come to "appropriate conclusions". PTI