All 32 accused acquitted in Babri Masjid demolition case

In the Babri Masjid demolition case, a special CBI court of India on Wednesday said the demolition was not pre-planned and ruled out the conspiracy theories in the December 1992 incident in which the Mughal era monument was razed to ground by a mob of kar sevaks. 

The CBI court has acquitted all the accused in the case, including the likes of LK Advani, MM Joshi and Uma Bharti, reports India Today.

CBI Judge SK Yadav while reading the verdict in the Babri Masjid demolition case said there was no conspiracy in the act. 28 years after the demolition of Babri Masjid, the CBI court has acquitted all 32 accused in the case.

The CBI court has even said that the accused persons were infact trying to save the Babri structure from being demolished and observed that the evidence was tampered with.

The judgment in the Babri Masjid demolition case is 2,300 pages long. While acquitting all the accused, the CBI court has said the "Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) had no role to play directly or indirectly" in the demolition. The court observed that "unknown people threw stones from the back".

ATTENDANCE IN COURT

The top names in the Babri Masjid demolition case, including the likes of BJP veterans LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and Kalyan Singh and Mahant Nrityagopal Das remained absent from the court on Wednesday at the time of delivery of verdict. 26 of the accused in the case were present in the CBI court on Wednesday.

However, most of the other accused persons, including Sakshi Maharaj, Vinay Katiyar, Dharamdas, Vedanti, Lallu Singh, Champat Rai and Pawan Pandey were present in the court in Lucknow for the verdict in the Babri Masjid demolition case.

LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were seen tracking the verdict news on television. MM Joshi failed to join the court proceedings via videoconferencing link.

Before court proceedings for the verdict in the Babri Masjid demolition case began, the accused persons, who met after years, were seen greeting each other and enquiring about their well-being.

Initially, charges were framed against 48 people in the Babri Masjid demolition case, but 16 of them died during the trial that has spanned nearly three decades.

ELABORATE SECURITY ARRANGEMENT

Ahead of the verdict in the Babri Masjid demolition case, security has been tightened around the special CBI court in Lucknow. Among the 32 surviving accused persons in the Babri Masjid demolition case, 26 reached the CBI court for the verdict.

Multi-layered security made the court premises a virtual fortress ahead of the verdict in the Babri Masjid demolition case. Wooden barricades were seen at cross sections in the vicinity of the court building in Lucknow while movement of buses from the Kaisarbagh bus stand were diverted. Vehicular movement in the area was also restricted.

THE DEMOLITION AND SUPREME COURT VERDICT

Babri Masjid, the Mughal era mosque built by Emperor Babar, was razed by a mob of kar sevaks on December 6, 1992. The kar sevaks demolished the heritage monument saying it was constructed on the birthplace of Lord Ram or the Ram Janmabhoomi.

Last year, in a major victory for the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, Supreme Court allotted the disputed site in Ayodhya for the construction of a Ram temple. However, Supreme Court also said in its verdict that the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 was a “violation of the rule of law”. An alternative five-acre site was found in the city to build a mosque.

The court had also set a deadline for August 31 for the trial court to finish the proceedings in the Babri Masjid demolition hearing. 

This deadline was later extended for a month. The trial court started day-to-day hearings to complete the trial on time.

On August 5, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted the much-awaited bhoomi pujan for the construction of a Ram Mandir at the Ram Janmabhoomi Sthal amid much fanfare.

PM Narendra Modi placed a silver brick at the Ram Janmabhoomi Sthal after the elaborate bhoomi pujan ceremony and said, "The wait of centuries has ended and India is creating a golden chapter in Ayodhya."