If the CBI has told the Government that a revision petition against the discharge of then Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani wasn’t filed since the period of limitation (three months) had expired, the agency is only admitting to part of the story. What the agency—and the NDA shouting brigade—seem to have glossed over is how in December 2003, this was such a political hot potato that two CBI chiefs dithered over the issue. The agency approached then Attorney General Soli Sorabjee who excused himself and referred the matter to a private lawyer N Natarajan. Days before he left office on December 6 last year, CBI chief P C Sharma—faced with divergent views within—asked the Attorney General for advice in the Advani matter. The discharge of Advani by Rae Bareli magistrate V K Singh came on September 19. Soli Sorabjee decided not to give an opinion in the matter and on December 11, sent the brief back to the CBI with this written advice, ‘‘In my view, it would be advisable and prudent in order to obviate needless controversy that the CBI consults N Natarajan, an eminent senior counsel leading criminal law for years, and seek his opinion and act in accordance with it.’’ Eventually, it was the Chennai-based lawyer, who has been appearing in cases both for and against the CBI, who justified Advani’s discharge by the Rae Bareli magistrate. The operative part of Natarajan’s three-page opinion read, ‘‘In my opinion this discharge is justified in the circumstances of this case and it is not appropriate to file a review opinion against the discharge.’’ After receiving this opinion, CBI Director U S Mishra took almost three weeks to append his own final opinion on the Babri Masjid file. And when he did, he echoed Natarajan’s line: ‘‘On merit, I do not find any substance (in the allegation) against Shri L K Advani and there is no merit in filing a revision.I agree with the view of Mr Natarajan, an eminent counsel, tremendously well-versed in matters of criminal law.’’ While Natarajan was not available in Chennai today, this is what the lawyer had told The Indian Express days after he had sent his opinion: ‘‘I told the CBI that on examination of the evidence I found that there was no legal sanction or merit in the conspiracy charge against Advani. In my view, making speeches does not constitute conspiracy. There was no merit in the charges framed against him and this is what I opined to the CBI.’’ On the basis of a High Court judgment, the Babri case was split into two: one dealing with conspiracy and the other with inflammatory speeches. The Lucknow special court deleted all leaders from the conspiracy case. The CBI filed a revision and it is still pending. The Rae Bareli magistrate discharged Advani in the speeches/unlawful assembly case.
