Justice Liberhan spent Rs eight crore to find out what happened during Babri Masjid demolition, a task the CBI has already done and in much less time.
Justice Liberhan said it took him 17 years to dig the truth because no one wanted to help him. The CBI, however, said they faced the same problems, but they took just nine months after the demolition to finish their investigation.
In those nine months they were able to interview 1500 witnesses compared to 17 years and 100 witnesses by the Liberhan Commission.
The CBI in fact chargesheeted the bigwigs, including Advani, for criminal conspiracy to demolish the mosque, and for inflammatory slogans and speeches. But the Liberhan report is still cloaked in secrecy.
So, if the court trial is already on, can the fact-finding Liberhan Commission have an impact?
There are past judgements which show that the Supreme Court doesn't think much of commissions. For instance, in the TT Antony case of Kerala in 2001when a commission inquired into riots, the court said the report should just be sent to the investigating officer.
The irony is that both the judge and the CBI were given almost the same brief at the same time because commissions, unlike the CBI, can investigate without being bound by sanctions and permissions. So, Liberhan Commission was expected to deliver quicker.
