28 Years On, Babri Masjid Demolition Case Verdict Today!

A special court in Lucknow will today deliver the verdict on the 28-year-old case involving the demolition of Babri Masjid. Leaders such as Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Kalyan Singh and former Union minister Uma Bharti, and sitting MPs Brij Bhushan Singh and Sakshi Maharaj are amongst the 32 accused facing the trial. The UP police have issued a high alert across the state in view of the verdict.

The special CBI court has asked all the 32 accused to be present in the court on 30 September. The deadline was set by the Supreme Court.  The earlier deadline set by the special CBI court to pronounce the verdict was August-end but it was later extended by a month.

The conflict over Ram Janmabhoomi and Babri Masjid continued for a long time and it took a turning point in December 1992, when members of the VHP, the Shiv Sena and the BJP razed the mosque to the ground, sparking national communal riots between Hindus and Muslims in which thousands died.

The SC resolved the Ayodhya dispute in November 2019 by allowing Hindus to build a Ram Mandir on the disputed land while sanctioning five acres of land to Muslims for the construction of a mosque in the temple town.

The Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) has been investigating the case, and a total of 351 witnesses and nearly 600 documents have been produced by the agency as evidence before the special court.

According to the reports, Advani had recorded his statement on 24 July before the court through video conferencing while former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Kalyan Singh said that the allegations against him were politically motivated. Initially, charges have been filed against 48 persons, but 16 of them died during the trial course.