Saturday, April 29 2006 15:15 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Rae Bareli: A special court hearing the Babri Masjid demolition cases here against BJP leaders L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi along with six others today (Apr 29,2006) fixed May 9 for further hearing on the matter.

Special Judge V K Singh posted the matter for May 9 after hearing the CBI counsel P K Chaubey on the defence applications challenging the authority of the investigating agency to prosecute the matter.

Chaubey, citing several Supreme Court and High Court rulings, argued that CBI was fully competent to launch prosecution.

The defence, had on the last hearing, challenged the CBI's right to prosecute and pleaded that it was only an investigative agency.

Besides Advani and Joshi, former Union Minister Uma Bharti, BJP national general secretary Vinay Katiyar, VHP leaders Ashok Singhal, Acharya Giriraj Kishore and Vishnu Hari Dalmiya and Sadhvi Ritambhara are facing charges in the matter.