Timeline Of Babri Masjid Demolition Case That Took 28 Long Years

After 28 long years, the Lucknow court pronounced verdict in 1992 Babri Masjid Demolition case. The demolition sparked India's deadliest riots. The case has followed a tortuous path over the last 28 years. The number of cases increased to 49 from the initial two cases filed in 1992. The second case, FIR no 198 named Mr. Advani, Mr. Joshi and Uma Bharti, accusing them of spreading religious enmity and provoking riots.

1528: Babri Masjid constructed under Mughal emperor Babur.

1949: Idols of Lord Ram 'appeared' or were 'installed' inside the mosque in December 1949. This led to mass protests that led to both Muslims and Hindus filing lawsuits. In the following years, Hashim Ansari filed a case for the Muslims and Nirmohi Akhara filed one for the Hindus. The government has made the site controversial and locked it up.

1984:In order to continue the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad forms a group in which BJP leader LK Advani is made the leader and face of the campaign for the construction of a grand 'Ram Mandir.'

1986: In Faizabad, the district judge ordered the gates of the contested structure to open so that Hindus could enter and pray.

1989: Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi allowed Vishwa Hindu Parishad to conduct Shilanyas (consecration). This took place in November 1989, when the Hindutva movement expanded at an unprecedented rate.

1990: In an attempt to gain support from the individuals to build a Ram Temple at the disputed site, BJP President LK Advani conducted a rath yatra across the country. This was also the year when the Babri Masjid was partially damaged by VHP volunteers. With the Janata Dal government at the centre, Mulayam Singh Yadav was the UP's chief minister.

1992: The disputed structure is brought down by karsevaks and on 6 December, a temporary temple is set up. On the same day, two FIRs were reported.

1993:In Lalitpur, a separate court is set up to adjudicate the cases. However, subsequently, in consultation with the Allahabad High Court, the State Government issued a notification to transfer the trial of these cases from a special court in Lalitpur to a special court in Lucknow.

1996: Lucknow court calls for criminal conspiracy to be added in the cases.

2003: In 2003, a supplementary accusation against the eight accused under FIR 198 was filed by the CBI. In fact, the Rae Bareli court admitted Advani's application and discharged him as an accused, stating that the case against him was not appropriate for him to stand trial.

2010: The CBI has lodged a petition for revision in the Allahabad High Court against its order of 4 May 2001, which held that the two sets of cases under FIR 197 and FIR 198 had to be tried separately.

2012: The CBI eventually approached the Supreme Court in 2011 and subsequently filed an affidavit on 20 March 2012 in which it put forward a renewed claim for a common trial of all the cases.

2015: In the Babri Masjid demolition case , the Supreme Court issued a notice to senior BJP leaders, including LK Advani, Uma Bharati, Murli Manohar Joshi and Kalyan Singh, to respond to the CBI 's request not to drop charges of criminal conspiracy against them.

2017: The SC orders the invocation of conspiracy charges against several suspects, including LK Advani and 20 others.

2019: The special judge for the Lucknow court seeks an extra six months to complete the trial; the two-year deadline for the Supreme Court expired earlier in the year.

August 2020: In the Babri Masjid demolition case, the Lucknow court fixes September 30 as the date for the verdict in the Babri Masjid demolition case.

September 30, 2020: A special court delivered the much awaited judgement today in the Babri Masjid demolition case. All the 32 accused in the Babri mosque demolition case were acquitted by a special court. The court said there was no conclusive proof against the accused.