An Indian court yesterday dropped proceedings against Home Minister LK Advani and 21 others for their role in the 1992 demolition of Babri mosque by Hindu zealots which led to widespread communal riots.

A special court in the northern Indian city of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh state said it was dropping legal proceedings against Advani and two other federal ministers Uma Bharti and Murli Manohar Joshi due to a "legal defect."

According to the court there were anomalies relating to the manner in which the special court was established by a provincial government notification.

The court ruled that it was now up to the state government to issue a fresh notification to re-establish a special court to try Advani and others.

The provincial government in Uttar Pradesh is headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP).

Hence, analysts say it is unlikely that the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Rajnath Singh, a prominent BJP leader, will move a review

petition for the trial of his own party's home minister.

However, Singh, who was in Delhi yesterday to attend a meeting, assured reporters that he would "follow the law."

The razing of the 16th century Babri mosque by Hindu zealots on December 6, 1992 sparked some of post independence India's worst

Hindu-Muslim violence in which 2,000 people were killed.

Advani, sports minister Uma Bharti and human resources development minister Murli Manohar Joshi all stand accused by federal investigators of inciting the crowds to tear down the mosque structure.

Hardline Hindus believe the mosque stood on the site of a temple marking the birthplace of the Hindu God, Ram.

The controversy over plans to build a Hindu temple on the Babri ruins was revived two months ago when Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said the campaign was an expression of "national" sentiment and an "unfinished" task.

The remark caused a furore in both houses of parliament, stalling legislative business for more than a week.

Analysts say the uncertainty surrounding the latest ruling will relieve Vajpayee, who has rejected demands made by the main Opposition Congress party that the accused ministers be forced to resign from the Indian cabinet.