New Delhi, Oct 16: Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh today questioned the bona fides of the Liberhan Commission and accused it of trying to circumvent court proceedings to force him to depose before it as a witness. In a rejoinder to the commission's reply to his plea for revival of an earlier petition against summoning by the one-man panel probing the Ayodhya demolition, Singh said it had no locus standi to oppose his petition. They said petition had become infractions on April one after conclusion of the recording of evidence by the commission. "The commission's conduct in opposing the restoration of the writ petition is clearly malafide....," he said in the rejoinder filed through counsel Ajay K Agrawal.
The court is scheduled to hear Singh's plea tomorrow.
The former chief minister, during whose tenure the disputed structure was demolised, wondered why the commission should consider him as an adversary as "it is supossed to be a bona fide fact finding body".

Earlier, Commission's counsel Anupam Gupta had accused the Centre of colluding with Kalyan Singh to delay the proceedings of the commission probing the demolition of disputed structure at Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. Singh had appeared before the commission as a "witness" on September 23 and sought adjournment of the hearing which was granted in view of a Delhi High Court order.

The former Chief Minister appeared before the commission as a bailable warrant was issued against him on September two asking him to make appearance on September 23.


Bureau Report