Babri demolition case: All accused acquitted, judge says demolition was not pre-planned
A judgment was given by the Special Court of Lucknow on Wednesday in the case of demolition of the disputed structure of Babri Demolition case Verdict by CBI Court in Ayodhya.
The CBI court judge Surendra Kumar Yadav has acquitted 32 accused including LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti. A total of 48 people were accused in this case, out of which 17 have died.
While delivering the judgment, Judge SK Yadav said that the Babri incident was not pre-planned. This incident happened suddenly. One cannot just convict someone on the basis of photographs.
On December 6, 1992, there were a total of 49 accused in the case of the demolition of the mosque, out of which 17 accused have died. In this case, the decision came on all the remaining 32 main accused. All the accused were acquitted.
The main accused in this case are senior BJP leaders LK Advani, Murali Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, Kalyan Singh, Vinay Katiyar, Ram Vilas Vedanti, Braj Bhushan Sharan Singh etc. Apart from these, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, Champat Rai, Sadhvi Ritambhara, Mahant Dharamdas were also among the main accused.
In the judgment, Judge SK Yadav said that nothing had happened under the pre-decided plan regarding Babri Masjid. The way the evidence is given in photos, videos, photocopies, nothing proves it.
The court said that tempered evidence was presented in the Babri Masjid demolition case. Some anti-social elements climbed the dome. The accused tried to stop the mob.
While delivering the judgment, the judge said that Ashok Singhal wanted to keep the structure safe, because there were idols .
On behalf of the Muslim side, Zafaryab Jilani said that this decision is against both the law and the High Court.
Those who have been from the Muslim side in the demolition case will be appealed in the High Court.
The investigation started under sections 395, 147, 149, 253, 153A, 153B, 295, 505, 147, 120B of the IPC for the demolition of Babri structure. Later 332, 338 and 201 were added. Of these sections in Crime Number 198 and 197, there are 395 robbery sections, which have a maximum punishment of 5 years.
LK Advani, Murali Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, former Shiv Sena MP Satish Pradhan, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das and former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh joined the courtroom through video conferencing. Apart from these, all the 26 accused were present in the courtroom.
The Babri case was the final decision of the tenure of Special Judge SK Yadav. He was scheduled to retire on 30 September 2019, but the Supreme Court extended him service till 30 September 2020 (until the verdict is pronounced).
By Priya Kumari
