Babri Mosque demolition verdict News

SK Yadav, the special CBI Judge who was due to retire in 2019, was given an extension to pronounce the verdict in the high-profile Babri Mosque demolition case on Wednesday. All 32 accused in the case were acquitted citing "lack of evidence'' against them for hatching the alleged conspiracy. The court also observed that the 1992 demolition was not "pre-planned." The district and sessions judge of the CBI court in Lucknow has been conducting daily hearings in the case since 2017 following an order by the Supreme Court. The 60-year-old judge was to retire in 2019, but he has been given extensions by the top court to hear the high- profile case which he has been handling since 2015.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Wednesday said that it is not satisfied with the special CBI verdict in the Babri Masjid demolition and it will appeal against it in the higher court. AIMPLB secretary Zafaryab Jilani said that the judgment pronounced by the special CBI court in the Babri Demolition case is wrong. "We will appeal against the judgment in the High Court," said the lawyer who was also part of the Babri Action Committee.

Mohammad Iqbal Ansari, the Babri Masjid litigant, on Wednesday welcomed the special CBI court verdict in the Babri Mosque demolition and said that its good that the trial is over now. Welcoming the verdict, Ansari said, “It’s good that this is now over. Let’s all live in peace. Let there be no fresh trouble of this nature. Hindu and Muslim have always lived in peace in Ayodhya.” Iqbal Ansari has earlier said that after the Supreme Court`s decision on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute pronounced on November 9, 2019, past incidents related to the dispute must be done away with, and the dispute should be forgotten.

Babri Masjid demolition case verdict vindicates my belief, said LK Advani after the CBI court cleared his name. His BJP colleague MM Joshi called the verdict 'historic'. Nearly twenty-eight years after the Babri Masjid was demolished, the Special CBI court on Wednesday acquitted all 32 accused in the case, including former deputy prime minister LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Kalyan Singh and Uma Bharti. The accused were acquitted citing "lack of evidence'' against them for hatching the alleged conspiracy. The court also observed that the 1992 demolition was not "pre-planned." Advani, Joshi and Uma Bharti were earlier accused of hatching the conspiracy that led to the demolition of the 15th-century mosque in December 1992. They attended the proceedings via video conferencing.

Top BJP leaders, including Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, visited party veteran LK Advani shortly after the Special CBI court on Wednesday acquitted him and all other accused in more than two-decade-old ' Babri Masjid demolition case. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also welcomed the court's judgment in the 1992 Babri Mosque demolition case and said that ‘justice has won’. Senior BJP leader Ram Madhav welcomed the CBI court verdict in the case, saying ‘victory has triumphed.’