The verdict in the 28-year-old case involving the demolition of Babri Masjid, which stood at the Ram Janmabhoomi site in Ayodhya, will be pronounced today by a special court in Lucknow. The 1992 demolition allegedly preceded by a series of rath yatras by the BJP’s LK Advani — had cost around 3,000 lives and changed the country’s political landscape. The accused in the case include senior leaders of the ruling BJP – the party’s founder-members Mr. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, former ministers Uma Bharti and Kalyan Singh. Mr. Advani, 92, Mr. Joshi, 87, and Ms. Bharti, 61, were not present in court and joined via video conferencing.
LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, and Kalyan Singh, who are among the 32 surviving personalities were subjected to the accusation in the case and are facing charges of criminal conspiracy and instigating enmity. The court, which has asked all the liable people to be present, has to decide whether they and the others conspired and instigated thousands of activists to bring down the mosque on December 6, 1992. The accused who are present in the court include Faizabad MP Lallu Singh, Unnao MP Sakshi Maharaj, Kaiserganj MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Ram temple trust member Champat Rai and 22 others. Amongst the incriminated, Mr. Advani, Mr Joshi, and Uma Bharti were allegedly on the dais near the mosque at the time of the demolition on December 6, 1992. The investigating agencies said they instigated the crowd with their speeches.
Former Union minister Uma Bharti, who is admitted to a hospital in Uttarakhand after contracting COVID-19, has written a letter to BJP chief JP Nadda, saying she will not seek for bail if she is convicted in the case.
Senior BJP leader Kalyan Singh was the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh at the time of the wreckage. His government was dismissed as riots broke out across the country, in which approximately 3,000 people died. Mr. Advani had recorded his statement before the special CBI court through video conference on July 24. He was asked a total of 100 questions by the special judge. Mr. Joshi had recorded his statement a day before Mr. Advani. Both have refuted all charges against them.
For the unversed, the case has taken a tortuous route over the last 28 years.
Here’s a timeline through the proceedings of the case:
DECEMBER 6, 1992:
- The mosque is pulled down by allegedly “kar sevaks”, or activists allegedly incited by speeches from senior BJP figures of the time.
- Two criminal cases were filed — one against “lakhs” of kar sevaks and another against eight people including Mr Advani, Mr Joshi and Ms Bharti, accusing them of promoting religious enmity and provoking riots. A total of 49 FIRs were filed in regards to the case.
SEPTEMBER 8, 1993:
- The UP government commits all cases leaving the one involving BJP and VHP leaders – to a special court in Lucknow.
- The case involving the leaders (FIR-198) was moved to a court in the state’s Rae Bareily district.
OCTOBER 5, 1993:
- The CBI files a single consolidated charge sheet against 48 accused and includes the late Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and Kalyan Singh ( and other prominent religious and political leaders ).
- The UP government amends its earlier order so all the cases can be heard by the same Lucknow court as of October 8,1993.
MAY 2001:
- Special CBI court drops proceedings against Advani, Joshi, Uma Bharti, Bal Thackeray and others.
NOVEMBER 2004:
- CBI challenges before the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court the dropping of proceedings against BJP leaders on technical grounds. Court issues notices.
MAY 2010:
- High court dismisses plea. Says no merit in CBI’s revision petition.
SEPTEMBER 2010:
- In a majority of 2:1, HC rules three-way division of disputed area between Sunni Waqf Board, Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.
FEBRUARY 2011:
- CBI moves Supreme Court against high court order in the mosque demolition case.
MAY 2011:
- SC stays HC verdict on Ayodhya land dispute.
MARCH 2017:
- SC indicates it may consider restoring conspiracy charges against the BJP leaders in Babri Masjid demolition case.
- Supreme Court suggests new and fresh attempts to resolve Ayodhya dispute.
APRIL 2017:
- SC favours time-bound completion of trial in the case and reserves order on CBI’s plea.
- Supreme Court restores criminal conspiracy charge against leaders including Advani, Joshi and Uma Bharti and clubs the trials in the matters pending against VIPs and kar sevaks.
NOVEMBER 2019:
- SC grants entire disputed land in Ayodhya to deity Ram Mandir and directed government to allot an alternative five-acre plot to build the mosque.
AUGUST 2020:
- PM Narendra Modi conducts bhoomi pujan’ in Ayodhya, launches construction of Ram temple amidst the pandemic which the Home Minister Amit Shah couldn’t attend as he contracted Covid-19.
- Supreme Court extended by a month the deadline for completion of trial in the Babri Masjid demolition case.
And today as of September 30 which was The Day for the case’s verdict, Special Judge S K Yadav delivered judgment in the mosque demolition case and all accused are vindicated.
- Judge SK Yadav said that the demolition of Babri Masjid was spontaneous and not pre-planned.
- The court said, Ashok Singhal and other Sangh parivar leaders wanted to save the structure as Ram Lalla statues were inside.
- The court stated that there is no precise proof against the accused.
- As per the court, a local intelligence report had cautioned in advance that the unexpected sequence of events can take place on December 6 , 1992 but it was left disregarded.
- The judge observed that “the video cassettes were not sealed and even the videos were not clear and as such the same cannot be relied upon.”
- The counsel for Sakshi Maharaj, Prashant Singh Atal said, “About the photographs, the court said that the negatives were available but the CBI could not produce the negatives. Also the video recordings were fabricated and tampered. CBI did not follow the provisions of 65 Evidence Act, that is why all accused were acquitted on the basis of lack of evidence.”
- The special CBI judge in his order said that the prosecution’s charge that a meeting was held at the house of Vinay Katiyar on the evening of the demolition where the conspiracy to obliterate the structure was hatched, was left unsubstantiated.
- A video of the meeting was presented as the evidence.
- The court said that the video evidence didn’t prove that any conspiracy was devised.
