Babri Masjid demolition case: Court acquits LK Advani, MM Joshi, 30 others

An Indian court has granted bail to all the suspects involved in the Babri Masjid demolition case.

The judge mentioned in the verdict that the ‘demolition was not pre-planned’.

As per the initial details, Special CBI judge Surendra Kumar Yadav has given the verdict on the Babri Masjid demolition case on Wednesday, 28 years after the mosque was demolished by a mob in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya town.

According to the verdict by a special CBI court, all accused in the case have been acquitted. There were 32 accused in the case out of which 17 died.

Some of the high-profile personalities in the case including BJP leaders such as Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharati, Kalyan Singh, among others. Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, Champat Rai, and others were also accused.

According to Hindustan Times, The 32 accused face charges under several sections of the IPC, including criminal conspiracy, rioting, promoting enmity between different groups, and unlawful assembly. During the trial, the

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) produced 351 witnesses and 600 documents as evidence before the CBI court.

The court had initially framed charges against 49 accused; 17 accused have died.

The UP police had issued a high alert across the state given the verdict.

What is the case?

As per the details, the Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992 by a mob that believed it was created on the birthplace of Hindu deity Lord Ram. The demolition infuriated people and gave birth to communal riots around India in which 1,800 were killed.

Veteran leaders L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, Vinay Katiyar, Sadhvi Rithambhara, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, Champat Rai Bansal, Ram Vilas Vedanti, Dharmadas, and Satish Pradhan would have faced maximum imprisonment up to five years for conspiracy.