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Tribunal quashes ban on VHP
TRIBUNAL QUASHES BAN ON VHP
Times of India, June 21 1995
New Delhi: The ban on the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) was quashed today by
the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal.
The tribunal headed by Mr Justice K Ramamoorthy quashed the January 14,
1995 notification of the Central government on the ground that it had failed
to show any tangible reason for imposing the ban.
Welcoming the decision, VHP chief Ashok Singhal said, "This represents
a victory for law and justice. The government had issued the ban to
consolidate its Muslim votebank. The evidence on the basis of which the ban
was issued was entirely fabricated."
This was the second time that a ban had been imposed on the VHP. The govt
while declaring it an unlawful association under the Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Act, 1967, had claimed that if the VHP activities were not
immediately curbed, it could lead to communal disharmony and communal tension.
After this second ban on the VHP, the govt referred it to the Justice
Ramamoorthy tribunal, which gave its verdict in a 129-page judgement today.
In a strong observation against the govt, the tribunal held "...the notifi-
cation has been issued, in my view, for collateral purposes and not for the
purpose of maintaining peace and tranquility in society."
The tribunal rejected the field reports submitted by the Intelligence
Bureau (IB) to the govt to prove the charge against the VHP. The judge also
criticised the withholding of the said field reports on the claim of
privilege. Despite the permission given to the govt that it need not disclose
its sources, the latter was unable "to bring out any material from which the
tribunal could extrapolate or estimate the correctness of grounds mentioned
in the notification," the tribunal observed.
The VHP will file a petition against Union home secretary K Padmanabiah
and several Central govt officials, seeking action them for making perjurious
statements before the Ramamoorthy tribunal.
VHP counsel Lala Ram Gupta told newspersons today that the petition under
section 340 of CrPC against the home secretary and IB joint director NC Padhi
will be filed before the tribunal by this month.
