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The verdict in the Babri Masjid demolition case in India will be announced today, Wednesday, after nearly 27 years. The verdict will be handed down by a special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
On December 6, 1992, tax collectors demolished the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya. They claimed that there was a Ram temple at that location. After the incident, a case was brought against BJP leaders such as LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharati for inciting the demolition of the Babri Masjid. The CBI is investigating the case. The Supreme Court of India had given a deadline of September 30 (today) to the CBI special court.
The IWC issued the charge sheet 10 months after the Babri Masjid demolition. Among the front-line leaders of Indian politics on the charge sheet were Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharati. The IWC also appointed former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, BJP leader Binoy Katiyar, Sakshi Maharaj, VHP leader Sadhvi Ritambhara and Ram Janmabhoomi Trust president Nritya Gopal Das, and editor Champat Rai in the charge sheet. A total of 48 people were on the list of accused. During the long 26 years of the case, 17 of the defendants have already died. Among them are the leader of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Ashok Singhal, Giriraj Kishore, Vishnuhari Dalmiya and the supreme of Shiv Sena, Bal Thackeray.
CBI judge SK Yadav had ordered on September 18 that the 32 defendants, who were alive on Raidan’s day, must appear in court.
Among the defendants, Kalyan Singh and Uma Bharati suffer from corona and are being treated in hospital. Therefore, it is still unknown whether they will be present in court. Tight security measures have been put in place in Uttar Pradesh to ensure that law and order are not eroded by the verdict in this sensitive case. A strict search is being carried out on all entrances to Lucknow. At the same time, white-clad police officers have also been deployed.
Previously, the Supreme Court had ordered that the verdict in the Babri Masjid demolition case be given before August 31 this year. Later, at the request of a special court judge of the IWC, a court headed by Supreme Court Justice Rhinton F. Nariman ordered an extension of the previous term.
Previously, the court had called the demolition of the Babri Masjid in April 2016 “shaking up the secular chapter of the Indian constitution.” There are allegations of criminal conspiracy against various individuals and tax collectors, including LK Advani. The higher court ordered the IWC court to complete the hearing and render a verdict within two years.
Last month, the CBI recorded the statements of veteran BJP leaders LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi in a video conference. They both denied all the accusations against them, saying they were victims of political revenge. They claimed that they did not participate in the demolition of Babri Masjid. Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh is also on the list of defendants.
The case of the demolition of the Babri mosque has undergone several dramatic tensions in the last 28 years. The police launched two FIRs in the old Faizabad district after the incident. In FIR No. 198, charges were brought against millions of unidentified tax collectors. The case started in the Lucknow court. In FIR No. 198, Advani, Joshi, and Umad were charged with conspiracy. The lawsuit was settled out of court in Rae Bareli. Following the initiation of the investigation, in October 1993, the CBI issued a joint charge sheet in the two cases. India’s Central Intelligence Agency has also accused 46 leaders of conspiring to destroy a mosque. Then, in 2001, the lower court acquitted 14 leaders, including Advani, of conspiracy charges.
Although the CBI issued another charge sheet in 2003, the case against Advani continued without conspiracy charges as there was no evidence in Rae Bareli’s court order. In 2010, the Allahabad High Court upheld the lower court’s order and acquitted Advani of the conspiracy charges. The Allahabad High Court verdict was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2016 on the basis of a CBI petition filed in 2011. Conspiracy charges were brought against 14 leaders, including Advani. Following the order of the Supreme Court, the CBI court in Lucknow began hearing two cases simultaneously against the tax collectors and Advani. After nearly three decades, the hearing ended on September 1.
In early 2016, the Supreme Court had ordered that the case be resolved within two years through periodic hearings. More than once it was expanded. The high court postponed the retirement date of Lucknow court judge Surendra Kumar Yadav to end the case. Advani and Joshi were present at the scene when the Babri Masjid was demolished. They were charged with various crimes, including communal clashes, incitement to clashes and criminal conspiracy. In their statements at the Lucknow court, Advani and Joshi claimed that the conspiracy was for political revenge. They testified in a video conference about the Corona situation. And Uma-kalyanas is attending physically. However, no one except Kalyan Singh has produced documents proving his innocence. Uma Bharati commented outside court that she would feel blessed even if she was hanged for destroying the mosque.
Although Advani and Joshi denied all the allegations, the Liberhan Commission report said that the demolition of Babri Masjid was neither spontaneous nor unforeseen.
On the other hand, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya in November last year. But, there was also the observation of the higher court, disobeying the court order, the Babri Masjid was demolished. The law was violated by the demolition of Babri Masjid. The town’s place of worship is destroyed by calculation. The lower court has heard testimony from 350 people in the Babri mosque demolition case. About 600 documents were examined. Three decades have already passed. The question of how long the final decision will take if the main case goes to higher court is now circulating across the board. Apart from this, there is speculation in various quarters as to whether the Supreme Court verdict in the Ayodhya land dispute has any effect on the Babri Masjid demolition case.
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