A Special CBI court hearing the Babri mosque demolition case of December 6, 1992, acquitted all the 32 accused on Wednesday saying it was spontaneous and not a planned move. Those acquitted in the case that lasted 28 years include former Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani, former Union Ministers MM Joshi, Uma Bharti, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh and Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, former BJP MP Vinay Katiyar and Sadhvi Rithambhara.
The verdict triggered a wave of celebrations across the country. Talking to journalists, Sadhvi Rithambhara said: “Sab Ramji ki kripa hai”. The verdict has left the Leftists and Secular sections of the Indian polity, though several Muslim organizations have welcomed the verdict, as it helps to bring a closure to the issue.
According to Special CBI judge SK Yadav, the demotion was not a planned incident but a spontaneous act. He said that Ashok Singhal and other Sangh Parivar leaders wanted to save the structure as Ram Lalla statues were inside. There were sufficient evidence to prove that these leaders only tried to calm the karsevaks. The court further said the CBI has failed to substantiate the charges levelled against the 32 accused persons. The court also said that the video recordings submitted to the court were ‘tampered with’.
The court said that the prosecution could not produce enough evidence against the accused. The judge said the authenticity of audio, video provided by CBI could not be proven and the audio of the speeches were not clear.
The court also said that those who climbed on the dome, were anti-social elements. The 26 accused persons who were present in court on Wednesday, said that they had always maintained that the demolition was a conspiracy by the then Congress government.
Babri plaintiff, Iqbal Ansari, said in Ayodhya that after the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Ram temple last year, the demolition case had lost its relevance. “I welcome acquittal of the 32 persons by the court. There should be no further dispute on the matter,” he said.
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