17 years,48 extensions

Almost 17 years later,the Liberhan panel the longest Commission of Inquiry in the history of Independent India submitted the report on Tuesday,after 48 extensions.

When the Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhan Commission of Inquiry was appointed,the notification dated December 16,1992,issued by the then Union Home Secretary,Madhav Godbole had categorically said that the Commission would submit its report to the Central Government as soon as possible but not later than three months.

Almost 17 years later,the Liberhan panel the longest Commission of Inquiry in the history of Independent India submitted the report on Tuesday,after 48 extensions. How it functioned between these extensions was revealed by the Union Home Ministrys Ayodhya Section to The Indian Express in response to an application under the Right to Information Act.

Till last month,the Union Government had spent over Rs 8.15 crore on the Commission. Of this,a whopping portion more than Rs 5.6 crore went into the salaries and perks of the 57 supporting staff,of which just 22 are still working with the Commission. Except for one sweeper,the rest are all on deputation/loan from the Central Government.

Since his retirement he retired as Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court on November 11,2000 Liberhan has been getting Rs 30,000 per month less his pension,dearness allowance as payable to officers of All India Service carrying the pay of Rs 30,000,city compensatory allowance,house rent at the rate of Rs 10,000 per month,conveyance facilities,medical facilities,leave,LTC,travel allowance,water,power,telephone all as entitled to a sitting High Court Chief Justice. He was also allowed to do chamber practice and arbitration work.

While the Home Ministry notification said the Commission would be headquartered at Lucknow,it functioned out of one portion of the Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

When he was given the job,Liberhan,who was then a sitting Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court,was to inquire into the sequence of events leading to and all facts and circumstances relating to the occurrences at Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid complex on December 6,1992,which resulted in the destruction of the structure.

He was also to look into the role played by the then chief minister Kalyan Singh,his ministerial colleagues,officials of the UP Government and by individuals,agencies concerned and organisations in bringing down the structure.

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Along with these,he was also to probe the deficiencies in security measures as also the attack on mediapersons on the fateful day.

The commission was to,if it deemed fit,submit interim reports to the Union Government. But it did not submit any interim report.

It held 399 sittings,examining powerful people like former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao now dead,BJP leaders L K Advani,Murli Manohar Joshi,Kalyan Singh,VHP leader Ashok Singhal,Congresss Arjun Singh,former UP chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav,Central Government officials such as Madhav Godbole and many journalists.

Last year,the Commission was in the news for the wrong reasons: a bitter falling out between Liberhan and the then Commission counsel,Punjab and Haryana High Court lawyer Anupam Gupta. The reason for the tiff was whether the panel should address Advanis role in the demolition.

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The responsibility for submitting the report is entirely Justice Liberhans. I had nothing to do with the Commission, Gupta had said.

Secrecy was the buzzword

amp;149;Instead of Commission staff,Liberhan used different typists while writing the report

WHEN it came to writing his bulky report,running into hundreds of pages,Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhan who was heading the Commission of Inquiry into the sequence of events leading to the occurrences at Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid complex on December 6,1992,which led to the destruction of the disputed structure trusted nobody.

Refusing to use the large number of personnel at his disposal in the Commission to write the highly sensitive report for fear that contents would be leaked,Liberhan instead used the typists of his vast network of lawyer friends in Chandigarh.

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Not only this,in order to maintain total secrecy,Liberhan used many different typists rather than getting just one to do the job. In view of the political hot potato that he was handling,Liberhan was wary of anybody even getting an inkling of what his report was going to contain.

Highly computer-savvy,he has the entire record of the Commission,including thousands of pages of depositions and written statements,scanned and uploaded on to his laptop. Liberhan is known to have rebuffed many acquaintances when they tried to pry.

He knows everything about computers. He never let his laptop out of his sight even when at home, said a senior Punjab and Haryana High Court lawyer,who is very close to him.

Another friend said,He is not the trusting kind. Unless you know him for long,he doesnt open up easily. He was like this when he was a judge. He didnt like any interference in his work.

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Such was his functioning that till the very last day when the Commissions term would end,nobody,including his support staff and the Ayodhya section of the Ministry of Home Affairs,were told if he wanted another extension.

Though media reports often gave out the impression that he had sought another extension,Justice Liberhan never sought any extension. He just did his job, said a Commission officer.

The officer said till Tuesday morning,even they had no knowledge about Liberhans plan to submit the report.

Asked if he was under any kind of pressure,Liberhan said after submitting the report that he had put everything in his report.

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A close associate of former Haryana chief minister Bansi Lal,Liberhan retired as Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court on November 11,2000. But he had been made head of the Commission on December 16,1992,when he was still a Judge at the Punjab and Haryana High Court.