New Delhi, Aug 26: The Supreme Court today reserved its verdict on a seven year-old appeal filed by the Bihar government challenging a 1996 decision of the Patna High Court expunging those parts of the Bhagalpur riots commission report severely criticising BJP leader L K Advani though he was not given an opportunity to appear before it. A bench comprising Justice Brijesh Kumar and Justice Arun Kumar reserved the decision on the appeal after hearing Advani's counsel Harish Salve and Bihar government counsel Dinesh Diwedi.

Assailing the high court judgement, counsel for the state said that the then government was considering the report of the three-member commission inquiring into the 1989 Bhagalpur riots and no action had been taken against either BJP or its then chief Advani.

Diwedi said that if the government had proposed any action against either of the two, then a cause of action before the court could have arisen.

However, salve supported the high court decision saying, a person's reputation was intrinsically related to his fundamental right to life and liberty and the same right was breached when the commission, without giving him an opportunity to defend himself, went on to criticise him on the basis of his articles in party magazine "Panchjanya" four years after the occurrence of the riots.
Bureau Report