Babri Masjid Demolition Case: All 32 Accused Including LK Advani, MM Joshi, Uma Bharti Acquitted

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh:  All 32 accused including LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and 29 others were acquitted as the Babri Mosque demolition was not planned, it was spontaneous, said a judge in Uttar Pradesh Special Court.

The verdict came in the 28 year old case of demolition of Babri Masjid, which was earlier built at the place of Ram Janmabhoomi site in Ayodhya. The verdict was announced by a Special CBI Court in Lucknow.

The Masjid was demolished by thousands of Hindu activists ‘Kar Sevaks’ on December-06, 1992. The actions were cascaded by a series of ‘Rath Yatra’ by the senior BJP leader LK Advani. The Kar Sevaks believed that the Babri Masjid was built upon the ruins of an ancient Hindu temple that marked the birthplace of Lord Ram in Ayodhya.

During the hearing LK Advani (92), Murli Manohar Joshi (86), Uma Bharti (61) and Kalyan Singh were virtually present. All 32 accused were charged with criminal conspiracy and promoting enmity.

LK Advani, Uma Bharti, MM Joshi and Kalyan Singh are the surviving accused in the case among 32.

The probing agency said that, they probed the crowd with their speeches. LK Advani, Uma Bharti and MM Joshi were present on a stage near the mosque at the time of demolition of Babri Masjid.

After the demolition of Babri Masjid, heinous riots broke throughout the country and then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Kalyan Singh was immediately dismissed. The riots took over 3,000 lives.

The first case was filled just 10 days after the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992, till then the case took a tortuous route over the course of 28 years with total number of cases reaching to 49.

An FIR no. 198 named for LK Advani, Uma Bharti, MM Joshi was filed, accusing them for promoting religious crime and enmity and triggering riots.

In 1993, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a comprehended single chargesheet against 48 people including late Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray and Kalyan Singh.

The Supreme Court ordered to move the case to Lucknow court from Lalitpur to Rae Bareli while asking to restore the criminal charges against all.

Recently the Supreme Court had ordered the construction of a Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Ram at the site. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the site and performed the first ceremony to build the dedicated Lord Ram temple.

Ci-devant Union Minister Uma Bharti wrote to BJP party Chief JP Nadda from hospital, saying she will not seek bail if the decision finds her convicted in the case. She was tested positive for coronavirus and was admitted in a hospital in Uttarakhand.

LK Advani recorded his statement prior to the CBI Special court in a virtual conference on July 24, and was also asked 100 questions by the special judge. MM Joshi also recoded a statement before LK Advani. Both the leaders denied all the charges against them.