The special CBI court in Rae Bareilly, hearing the Ayodhya cases, has refused to grant ‘‘permanent exemption from personal appearance’’ to Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani and Union Ministers Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and other senior VHP leaders charged with conspiracy in the Babri demolition case.The case hearing finally began here on Wednesday in Rae Bareilly. The court, had issued summons to eight top leaders of the BJP and the VHP on March 29, asking them to appear in the court in person today.However, none of the leaders turned up despite the fact that the special Ayodhya court has been shifted to a bigger court room, keeping in mind the security requirements for these national leaders.The counsels for the Deputy Prime Minister and other VHP leaders sought permanent exemption from appearance in court on security grounds but the court, while allowing them exemption for Wednesday, said the facility could not be extended on a permanent basis.The court, also directed the CBI to produce an updated report on the cases and all relevant documents on April 26, the next date of hearing in the case.
