In a much-awaited judgment in the decades-old Babri Masjid demolition case, the CBI Special court in Lucknow has, on Wednesday,  acquitted all 32 accused, including veteran BJP leaders LK Advani, Murali Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, and Kalyan Singh, from the charges they were booked for demolishing the mosque in Ayodhya in December 1992. 

As the special court unfolded the climax of nearly three-decades-long case, it had given a blow to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) by observing that the agency, which probed the case, had failed to prove the allegations against the accused. Special court justice Surendra Kumar Yadav had pronounced the judgment amid the high security and said that the demolition of the mosque in December 1992 was not pre-planned and it had happened at the spur of the moment. 

Unveiling the verdict that had given a major relief to the accused, the special court justice said that the demolition was not a pre-planned action and it was just a spontaneous outpouring of emotions. The act was stirred due to the heat of the moment. By noting that the CBI hadn't produced enough evidence against the accused in connection to the charges, the special court stated that the agency hadn't followed the Evidence Act and the audio evidence disclosed by the CBI wasn't clear that it hadn't proven the criminal conspiracy and allegations against the accused.

In December 1992, a group had demolished Babri Masjid in Ayodhya by claiming that the mosque was built after collapsing the ancient Hindu temple that marked the birthplace of Lord Ram. The demolition drive had instigated the communal riots across the country during which around 3,000 people have died. The CBI took over the probe in 1993 and it had filed cases against 49 accused and carried out the probe. 

Of the 49 accused, 17 had died during the course of the trial and the Central agency had produced 351 witnesses and 600 documents as evidence against the accused before the court. The agency had 32 accused in its file that included high-profile and nationally known faces. Former Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani, veteran BJP leaders Uma Bharti, Murali Manohar Joshi, Kalyan Singh, Vinay Katiyar, and Sadhvi Rithambara were named as accused in the case.     

Some of the other accused include Champat Rai (general secretary of Sri Ram Janmabhoomi trust), Mahant Nritya Gopal Das (chairman of the trust), and Sakshi Maharaj. Known for its longevity, the case had been heard by the CBI special court, and earlier this year, the Supreme Court had directed the special court to complete the hearing and pronounce the verdict by August 31. However, later the top court had extended the deadline by September 30. 

The accused have been booked under the grounds of criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity between different groups and religions, and indulging in deliberate and malicious acts with the motive of prompting outrage religious feelings. Following the deadline, the CBI court had begun marathon hearings and unfolded the final phase of the case. On September 16, the special court said that the verdict will be pronounced on September 30 and it had directed all the accused to present in the courtroom during the verdict.

As the case has been at the final stage with the official date of judgment, it had drawn nation-wide attention given the severity of the case and high-profile accused, who decorated powerful posts. One of the accused Kalyan Singh was put on trial in September last year after his tenure as Governor of Rajasthan came to an end. Kalyan Singh was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh when the mosque was demolished by 'kar sevaks'. 

All eyes were on the verdict as the special court resumed the proceedings on Wednesday to pronounce the judgment. The state government had deployed more security personnel to the court premises ahead of the verdict and the security forces had brought the premises under their control as the accused arrived at the court. Of the 32 accused, 26 had arrived at the court while top accused like LK Advani, Murali Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, and Kalyan Singh had skipped arriving at court on the grounds of health and age and rather, they attended the hearing via video-conferencing. 

Justice Surendra Kumar Yadav had started reading the important excerpts from the 2,000-page judgment and amid the nationwide attention, the special court said that the act of demolition was not a pre-planned and pronounced the judgment of acquitting all 32 accused from the case. The court had observed the CBI had failed to prove its evidence and allegations, as the judicial body had brought the three-decades-long case to an end. 

The court further stated that the CBI hadn't shown enough evidence to prove the criminal conspiracy against the accused and acquitted the accused under the grounds of lack of evidence.