Liberhan panel gets another two months

The Liberhan Commission probing the Babri Masjid demolition got its 42nd extension on Wednesday with the Centre giving it two more months. The term of the commission, set up within a fortnight of the Babri Masjid demolition on December 6, 1992, has been extended till December 31, the Union Home Ministry announced.

The commission8217;s term has been extended five times this year despite repeated Government assurances to the contrary. Its term was extended by three months each in January and April and by two months in July. The previous extension of two months came on August 31, days after the Government assured Parliament that it would not be given any more time to complete its work.

The commission was appointed by then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao on December 16, 1992 and was asked to probe the circumstances leading to the demolition of the structure and identify persons and organisations who played a role in it. It completed recording the statement of the last important witness, Kalyan Singh, in August last year. Singh was Chief Minister when the structure was demolished.

Other political leaders who have been examined by the commission include former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani and former Union Minister Murli Manohar Joshi.

The exchequer has spent over Rs 7 crore on the commission8217;s functioning over the past 15 years, Government sources said.