EXPLAINED: Babri Masjid Demolition Case & All You Need To Know About It Ahead Of CBI Court Verdict

The special CBI court is set to deliver its verdict tomorrow. Here are all the details of the case and accused in the Babri masjid demolition case.

Image (PTI)

New Delhi: A special CBI court is set to pronounce the verdict on the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case on Wednesday, September 30  after almost twenty-eight years. The Supreme Court had given its verdict in 2019 in which the court ordered that the disputed land be handed to a trust created by the government to build the Ram Janmabhoomi. The government was also ordered by the court to give an alternative 5 acres of land in another place to the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board for the purpose of building a mosque as a replacement for the demolished Babri Masjid. CBI Court case The case of the demolition of Babri masjid in 1992 was divided into two parts- land dispute which was resolved by the Supreme Court in 2019, and the criminal case for which the CBI court is set to give the verdict tomorrow, September 30. Two FIRs were filed in Ayodhya after the demolition.  While the first was against unnamed karsevaks, the other named high-profile BJP leaders, as per media reports. The special CBI court was constituted in Rae Bareli on July 8, 1993, and the charges were framed on July 28, 2005. Around 57 witnesses recorded their statements. The high-profile case involving senior politicians of the BJP brass had failed to meet previous deadlines for the verdict set by the Supreme Court. The judgment date of September 30 is in line with the one-month extension granted by the Supreme Court which had instructed the special CBI court to wind up the case by September 30. The previous deadline for judgment had expired on August 31. In April 2017, the top court had also asked the special court to conduct day-to-day hearings and complete the trial within two years. Accused BJP leaders The criminal case involves many veteran BJP leaders most of whom have denied all charges.  The list includes L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, former Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh. Advani, Joshi, and Uma Bharati are accused of a conspiracy that led to the demolition of the 15th-century mosque in December 1992. They are among the 32 accused in the case. The court has already completed all proceedings in the case by recording the statements of all the accused. They are required to be present in the court when the verdict is announced. A report by IANS said that both Advani and Joshi who have recorded their statement in the case have denied all the charges against them. Similarly, Uma Bharti and Kalyan Singh who was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh at the time of the Babri masjid demolition have also denied the allegations. Meanwhile Babri Masjid plaintiff, Iqbal Ansari, has urged the special CBI court to quash the hearing and acquit all accused in the case. "A number of the accused persons in the Babri demolition case are no longer alive and those who are present are very old. I want that the cases should be quashed and the matter should be allowed to end. In any case, after the Supreme Court verdict, there is no dispute left," said Ansari in a report by IANS. On August 5 amid the coronavirus pandemic, the stone laying ceremony for Ram mandir was conducted in Ayodhya. Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the 'Bhoomi Poojan' fir the temple.