Lucknow: The CBI court on Wednesday acquitted LK Advani, Murali Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharati among 32 others accused of conspiracy in Babri Masjid Demolition case. In the verdict, Special Judge SK Yadav said there exists no proof of premeditation or conspiracy in the incident. . The prosecution could not establish its case, the court observed. The mosque was razed down by anti-social elements and BJP leaders tried to block their attempt, court said in its verdict.
Mosque demolition was a spontaneous act, a result of heightened emotions rather than conspiracy, said the court. The authenticity of the picture showing demolition taking place could not be established.
The list of 32 accused included BJP veterans, LK Advani, Murali Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharati, Kalyan Singh and Manohar Joshi of whom, 26 appeared in the court in-person. Murali Manohar Joshi, LK Advani, Uma Bharati, Kalyan Singh, Mahanta and Neeth Gopal excused themselves from attendance owing to illness. A total of 48 persons were arraigned in the case of whom 16 died during the years of trial.
The judgment session began at 11 in the morning. Owing to pandemic conditions, no one except parties to the case and their lawyers were allowed inside the court. Security has been tightened in the court premises and Ayodhya. There is heavy police deployment together with paramilitary forces at Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya.
In the case, the Sangh Parivar leaders were charged with conspiracy, inciting communal hatred, public statements that diminished national integration. In 2017, the Supreme Court had ruled that conspiracy charges against LK Advani and others would stick. On 19th of April in the same year, the Supreme Court directed the trial court to conclude the long-drawn case in a maximum of two years. That deadline was then initially extended up to 31 August this year and later to 30th September.
Of the 32 accused, advocate KK Mishra appeared for 25 while Lalit Singh represented the other seven. An aggregate of 351 witnesses were crossed and 600 evidences examined in the case.
