LK Advani, 92, and MM Joshi, 86, have reportedly applied for a waiver. (PROCEEDINGS)
New Delhi:
BJP veterans LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi will not be present when a Uttar Pradesh court announces its ruling in the Babri mosque case tomorrow.
Almost 28 years after the 16th century mosque was demolished in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya on December 6, 1992, a special IWC court in Lucknow will deliver its verdict. BJP leaders LK Advani, MM Joshi, Uma Bharti and Kalyan Singh are among the defendants facing charges of criminal conspiracy and promoting enmity.
The court had asked all the defendants to be present for the trial, but not all are able to attend due to the Covid pandemic and health concerns.
LK Advani, 92, and MM Joshi, 86, have reportedly applied for a waiver. Uma Bharti is in the hospital with the coronavirus and Kalyan Singh is recovering from Covid. So is another high-profile defendant, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, the head of the Ram temple trust.
The court will decide whether the BJP leaders and the other defendants instigated thousands of Hindu activists or “Kar Sewaks” to tear down the Babri Mosque, believing that it was built on the ruins of an ancient temple marking the birthplace of Lord RAM.
Uma Bharti, a former trade union minister, wrote to BJP chief JP Nadda that she would not request bail even if she was convicted. He had also told NDTV: “I don’t care what the trial will be. If they send me to the gallows, I will be blessed. The place where I was born will be happy.”
For nearly three decades, there have been many twists and turns in the case. The CBI first brought conspiracy charges against top BJP leaders and later dropped them.
In 2017, the Supreme Court asked IWC special judge SK Yadav to conduct daily hearings. It was supposed to announce its verdict in 2019, but it was delayed.
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