A historic verdict of demolishing Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992 was finally served. Nearly 28 years after the Babri Masjid was razed by a mob in Uttar Pradesh. A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Lucknow on Wednesday has acquitted all the 32 accused in the case, including BJP veterans LK Advani and MM Joshi. The court said there was no “conclusive proof” against the accused.
In its verdict which came almost 28 years after the 16th-century structure was brought down in Ayodhya, the Special CBI court observed that the incident was spontaneous and accused leaders tried to control the crowd.
The Ayodhya mosque was demolished by ‘kar sevaks’ who claimed that it was built on the site of an ancient Ram temple.
Two cases were subsequently filed in Ayodhya. While one related to the conspiracy of the demolition, the other related to instigating the crowd. The remaining cases were merged with the conspiracy FIR. While the trial in the conspiracy case was being held in a Lucknow court, the hearing of the case involving alleged instigation of the ‘kar sevaks’ was being held at a Rae Bareli court.
“The accused tried to stop the demolition,” said special judge Surendra Kumar Yadav, adding that the Hindu activists who tore down the 16th-century mosque were “anti-social elements A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Wednesday acquitted all the 32 accused in nearly three-decade-old Babri masjid demolition case.
Judge Surendra Kumar Yadav said that the demolition of the mosque was not pre-planned, but a spontaneous act. The case related to the razing of the disputed structure in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.
Among the 32 accused, LK Advani, MM Joshi, Uma Bharti and Kalyan Singh were not present in the court for the hearing. While Advani and Joshi were advised not to travel due to age and the coronavirus disease pandemic and attended the hearing through video link, Bharti and Singh have contracted Covid-19.
“The CBI court has acquitted all 32 accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case. This ends the long pending dispute related with the December 6, 1992 incident,” said lawyer KK Mishra.Mishra represented 25 out of 32 accused in the case.
Twenty six of the 32 accused were present in the court for hearing. Sadhvi Ritambhara, Vinay Katiyar, Champat Rai, Jai Bhagwan Goyal, Acharya Dharmadas, Lallu Singh, Ram Vilas Vedanti and Pawan Pandey were among them.
Iqbal Ansari, a petitioner in the Babri case, welcomed the CBI court’s decision. “It’s good that this is now over. Let’s all live in peace. Let there be no fresh trouble of this nature. Hindu and Muslim have always lived in peace in Ayodhya,” he said. Some saints distributed sweets in Ayodhya after the verdict.
Security was tightened in the court premises in Lucknow and no one was allowed inside the courtroom except the defence and CBI lawyers, and the accused persons. The verdict in the case comes roughly 11 months after the Supreme Court, in November last year, ruled in favour of building a temple at the 2.77 acre site in Ayodhya.
In one of the first reactions to the Babri conspiracy case verdict, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi tweeted “Jai Shri Ram”. “All the accused, including Advaniji, were acquitted. There was no pre-planned conspiracy to demolish the Babri structure,” he added.
“I was witness to the entire incident of 6 December,” the Bihar minister further added. “It was all spontaneous, no conspiracy. I was conducting the meeting from the dais I was surprised when some Kar Sewaks climbed the Babri structure. Advani ji was unhappy. Satyameva Jayate!”
Reacting to the verdict, the two accused BJP leaders, LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi also reacted to the judgement, welcoming it. Senior BJP leader Advani said he welcomes the significant verdict. He adds that the judgement “vindicates my personal and BJP’s belief towards the Ram Janmabhoomi movement”, as per NDTV reports.
Defence Minister and BJP leader Rajnath Singh welcomed the CBI court’s judgment, saying “It proves that justice triumphed however late it may be.
“Welcoming the CBI court’s verdict in Babri Masjid demolition case, BJP leader Ram Madhav tweeted saying: “Truth triumphs”. “CBI court’s acquittal in Babri conspiracy case was long overdue. A malicious case against some of the most respected leaders of our nation has fallen aside finally after 3 decades,” said Madhav.
In a landmark judgment last year, the Supreme Court allotted the disputed site in Ayodhya for the construction of a Ram temple, while calling the demolition of the mosque a violation of the rule of law.
The top court had also said that the demolition of Babri Masjid was illegal and directed the government to acquire an alternative plot of land to build a mosque.
