The Supreme Court has agreed to examine the legal issue of whether the Enforcement Directorate can attach ancestral properties of the accused under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act as 'proceeds of crime.'
"If such blurring gains traction, democracy would be in peril," a bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Anup Jairam Bhambhani said in its 83-page judgement while deliberating with the case and imposition of anti-terror law against Kalita.
The top court said there are serious infirmities in the oral accounts of Nirmohi witnesses that the disputed structure was not a mosque but the Janmabhoomi temple.
A rebel by nature, he lived the life to the fullest, donning different hats -- lawyer, parliamentarian, minister -- but was not a quintessential politician constrained by party lines.
"Considering the facts and circumstances, I am of the view that police custody is justified," the judge said.
The court said had the prosecution witnesses not turned hostile, the outcome of the trial would have been different.
Due to the continuous activity of the protesters, the site has virtually become hell for the residents, the Tribunal said.
Haryana and Punjab remained on high alert with officials warning that violent miscreants will be shot at sight.