Senior BJP leaders including LK Advani have been asked to respond to a petition that asks for conspiracy charges against them in the Babri mosque demolition case.

Mr Advani and the others - MM Joshi, union minister Uma Bharti and Rajasthan governor Kalyan Singh - have been given four weeks to respond to a notice by the Supreme Court.

The Allahabad High Court had in May, 2010, dropped conspiracy charges against these leaders for the 1992 razing of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya by Hindu activists.

A petition by Mehboob Ahmed, a defendant in the Ayodhya lawsuit, wanted those charges to be restored. Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal argued his case in court.

The court has also given the CBI more time to come up with a statement supporting its appeal against the high court order.

Mr Advani had accused the CBI of pressing for conspiracy charges against him because of political agenda.

The BJP leaders face charges connected to two FIRs or police complaints after the mosque razing. The first alleges a conspiracy by "lakhs of unknown kar sevaks (volunteers)." The second FIR specifically charges Mr. Advani and other leaders of inciting the activists with inflammatory speeches.

The two cases were merged and handed over to the CBI, which filed a composite charge sheet in October, 1993.

In 2001, a lower court dropped the conspiracy charge against the leaders on the ground that the case related only to the kar sevaks. This was upheld by the High Court.

- Manohar