NEW DELHI: With
Congress leader
Kapil Sibal taking a stand that he will not appear before any bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) will be represented by senior advocate Raju
Ramachandran in the Babri case even as reports earlier circulated that Sibal had been pulled out by Congress.
As a prime mover of the Congress-led petition seeking CJI’s removal, which has been rejected by
Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, Sibal has said he will not appear before Justice Misra.
Sibal though has not appeared in hearings after a controversy erupted when he argued that the case be deferred beyond the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
BJP had latched on to that comment during the Gujarat elections to question Congress if this was the party’s official line.
Sources said Sibal indicated his reluctance and it was felt that Congress had asked him to step back. BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi said Sibal’s decision not to appear was for professional reasons.
