LUCK: The IWC will decide to file an appeal against the verdict of the special court that acquits the 32 defendants in the Babri Masjid demolition case after consulting the legal department, their lawyer said Wednesday.
“After a copy of today’s verdict is received, it will be sent to CBI headquarters where it will be studied by the legal department and a decision will be made on filing an appeal based on your suggestion,” said CBI attorney Lalit Singh. . He responded to a question on whether the investigating agency will challenge the verdict of the special court that on Wednesday acquitted the 32 defendants, including BJP veterans LK Advani, MM Joshi, Uma Bharti and Kalyan Singh, in the politically sensitive case.
In delivering the long-awaited verdict in the 28-year-old case, IWC Judge SK Yadav held that there was inconclusive evidence against the defendants.
When reading the sentence in public hearing, the judge did not accept newspapers as evidence, since the originals were not presented.
He did not rely on the photos of the incident, as his negatives were not produced.
“The video cassettes were not sealed and even the videos were not clear and as such cannot be trusted,” the judge observed.
The CBI relied on journalistic evidence, photos taken by press photographers, and video tapes.
But he did not submit his originals and the court refused to rely on that evidence.
Referring to a report in an Ayodhya-based Hindi daily, presented as evidence claiming that then-Ayodhya MP Vinay Katiyar had said: “The karsevaks would come in secret,” the judge said that the journalist was not examined or the original document.
Similarly, the court found that a witness for the CBI admitted that neither he nor any other defendant was allowed to snatch or steal anything.
The case relates to the demolition of the disputed structure in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992, which sparked riots for several months that left almost 2,000 dead throughout the country.
The structure was demolished by ‘karsevaks’ who claimed that the mosque was built on the site of an ancient Ram temple.
The central agency presented 351 witnesses and 600 documents as evidence in court.
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