Babri Masjid demolition case: BJP LK Advani leaders, MM Joshi and Uma Bharti were acquitted
New Delhi:
The 32 accused of the demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992 were acquitted today, a court in Uttar Pradesh having ruled that the demolition was unplanned and involved “anti-social elements”. BJP LK Advani leaders Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti have all been acquitted of conspiracy charges in a landmark verdict that sparked strong reactions across the country.
A trending hashtag on Twitter has been “Nobody Demolished Babri” which is reminiscent of “Nobody Killed Jessica”, a Hindi film about the high profile murder of model Jessica Lal in 1999 where a court had previously acquitted her killer.
Several politicians, even actors, tweeted about the verdict which came after 28 years of waiting.
Congress leader Ahmed Patel called the verdict “shocking” and tweeted:
The Babri verdict is shocking, it goes against the principles of natural justice and even the observation of the SC
– Ahmed Patel (@ahmedpatel) September 30, 2020
Calling it a “complete parody of justice,” left-wing leader Sitaram Yechury recalled how a constitutional bench led by the then chief justice called the demolition a “flagrant violation of the law”.
“A complete parody of justice. All accused of criminal conspiracy to demolish Babri Masjid acquitted. He self-imploded? The constitutional bench led by the CJI at the time had declared that the demolition was a ‘flagrant’ violation of the law. Now that verdict! Shame, “Mr. Yechury tweeted.
Actor Swara Bhasker tweeted in Hindi saying, “The Babri Masjid fell by itself.”
Gujarat MP Jignesh Mevani shared a photo from two magazines then and last year about the Babri Masjid and tweeted: “1992 and 2019 … And in 2020: today nobody demolished #BabriMasjid. As Kapil Mishra is actually a great messenger of peace, the demolition of Babri and Rath Yatra was actually just fake news. All media stories before 2014 were fake news, only post-BJP media is the truth (sic). “
Actor Richa Chaddha tweeted in Hindi: “There is a courtyard above this place, where there is light and not darkness.”
Various others also tweeted against the verdict.
No one demolished Babri Masjid. He collapsed under his own weight. Jai Ho.
– RishiKesh Kumar (@rishikeshlaw) September 30, 2020
Babri Masjid magically fell on his own on December 6, 1992. Nothing else happened. There was no rath yatra (which was followed by massacres wherever it went), no hate speech and calls for violence, no demolition, and therefore no criminality.
Goodbye democracy
Goodbye to the rule of law– Hasiba | حسيبة 🌈 (@HasibaAmin) September 30, 2020
So: NO ONE HAS TAKEN UP BABRI !!
– Vinod Kapri (@vinodkapri) September 30, 2020
Over the past 28 years, the business has seen many turns. Two cases were filed in 1992, which eventually rose to 49. The second case, FIR No. 198, had named Mr. Advani, Mr. Joshi and Uma Bharti for encouraging religious enmity and causing riots. The Supreme Court later requested that the criminal conspiracy charges be restored against them.
The Supreme Court also called it “unlawful destruction” and said Muslims were unduly deprived of a mosque that was built over 400 years ago.
“Antisocial elements brought down the structure. The accused leaders tried to arrest these people,” said the special judge, whose mandate had been extended for this verdict.
The judge also said the audio and video evidence produced by the CBI did not establish conspiracy charges.
