Nearly 28 years after the Babri Masjid was razed by a mob, the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Wednesday has acquitted all the 32 accused in the case of Babri Masjid demolition, including the likes of L K Advani, MM Joshi and Uma Bharti, citing lack of evidence. CBI Judge S K Yadav, while reading the verdict said there was no conspiracy in the act.
The 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 top names in the Babri Masjid demolition case, including BJP Veteran L K Advani, Murali Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and Kalyan Singh and Mahant Nrityagopal Das remained absent from the court at the time of the delivery of verdict. Twenty six accused in the case were present.
The 1992 demolition, when thousands of Hindu activists tore down the mosque on December 6, was preceded by a series of rath yatras by L K Advani.
The 16th century mosque was pulled down by thousands of “Kar Sevaks” who believed it was built on the ruins of an ancient temple that marked the birthplace of Lord Ram in Ayodhya. In a landmark verdict in November, the Supreme Court ordered the construction of a temple at the site. The groundbreaking ceremony took place earlier this year in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated.
Over the last 28 years, the case has taken a tortuous route. From the initial two cases filed in 1992, the number of cases expanded to 49. The second case, FIR no 198, had named Mr Advani, Mr Joshi and Uma Bharti, accusing them of promoting religious enmity and provoking rioting.
In 1993, the Central Bureau of Investigation filed a single, consolidated chargesheet against 48 people, among whom Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray and Kalyan Singh were also included.
The cases against Mr Advani, Mr Joshi and Uma Bharti moved from Lalitpur to Rae Bareli to Lucknow after an order by the Supreme Court, which also asked that the criminal conspiracy charges be restored against them.
Mr Advani, Mr Joshi and Uma Bharti were allegedly on the dias near the mosque at the time of the mosque demolition. The investigating agencies said they instigated the crowd with their speeches. Kalyan Singh was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh at the time of demolition.
