Lucknow: Reading out the 2,000-page order, CBI judge Surendra Kumar Yadav acquitted all 32 accused in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case. While Sadhvi Ritambhara, Sakshi Maharaj, Vinay Katiyar and Champat Rai Bansal were present in court, three key accused BJP leaders skipped physical hearing, and attended through video-conferencing — Uma Bharti tested positive for coronavirus, LK Adavni and Murli Manohar Joshi have excused themselves on grounds of health and age.
If convicted, saffron veterans Advani, Joshi, Bharti, Katiyar, Ritambhara, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, Bansal, Ram Vilas Vedanti, Dharmadas and Dr Satish Pradhan would face maximum imprisonment up to five years. A high alert has been sounded in Uttar Pradesh. While policemen in civil clothes will be on guard in Ayodhya, 2,000 cops will be deployed at the building that houses the “Ayodhya Prakaran Court” in the Old High Court building in Lucknow’s Kaiserbagh. A report in Times of India stated that Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel have been stationed in 25 sensitive districts.
The date was fixed on the direction of the Supreme Court that had asked for the judgment to be delivered by September 30. The Babri Masjid was demolished in December 1992 by “kar sevaks” who claimed that the mosque in Ayodhya was built on the site of an ancient Ram temple. The land dispute over the site was settled last year by the Supreme Court, which allowed the construction of a Ram temple. The court also directed that an alternative site should be allotted in Ayodhya for the construction of a mosque. The ground-breaking ceremony for the temple took place on August 5 with Prime Minister Narendra Modi participating in a bhoomi pujan.
A day ahead of the verdict, BJP leader Uma Bharti said in a letter to party president JP Nadda that she would prefer to be “hanged” rather than seek bail. A report in The Print said Bharti wrote the letter to Nadda on September 26, the day she was dropped from the list of national office-bearers of the party in a dramatic reshuffle. Expressing pride in her participation in the “Ayodhya movement”, Bharti said seeking bail would “tarnish the dignity” of her role. “I do not know what the Ayodhya judgement will be on 30 September but I will not seek bail… I am proud of my participation in the Ayodhya movement. I have always said that even if I have to hang for being part of the Ayodhya movement, then that’s acceptable to me… Taking the bail will tarnish the dignity of my participation in the movement.” Bharti is currently admitted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh after testing positive for Covid-19. Her condition is said to be stable. While Bharti will not be present in court for the hearing, it is not yet clear whether she would appear via video conferencing.
The trial under the serious criminal conspiracy charges commenced against them after having been dropped by the trial court in 2001. The verdict was upheld by the Allahabad High Court in 2010, but the apex court ordered restoration of the conspiracy charge against them on April 19, 2017. The top court ordered daily hearing in the high profile case and directed the special judge to conclude it in two years.
The conspiracy charge is in addition to the existing charges against them for promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion for which they are already facing trial. The other charges against them include indulging in “deliberate and malicious” acts intended to outrage religious feelings, uttering statements leading to public mischief, rioting and unlawful assembly.
The CBI argued that the accused conspired and instigated ‘kar sevaks’ to demolish the 16th century mosque. But the accused pleaded innocence maintaining that there is no evidence to prove their guilt and claimed they were implicated by the then Congress government at the Centre as a political vendetta.
Unlike the title dispute case in the matter that saw final judgment being delivered by the Supreme Court in November 2019, the demolition case still can have a long way to go. After almost three decades it’s the first court in our legal system that is set to give the verdict. Deepening upon the ruling, parties concerned will clearly have a right to challenge the verdict in the higher courts of our country.
Despite the delay, it has been an exhausting trial in which more than 350 witnesses recorded their statements and CBI filled a consolidated charge sheet in 49 related cases. The case that initially had 49 accused, now has only 32 of them alive.
