News Analysis India

Tag: Babri Masjid

  • ram mandir: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee condemns Babri Masjid demolition

    Kolkata: Trinamool Supremo Mamata Banerjee slammed BJP for resorting to vote bank politics ahead of elections and dividing votes on the basis of religion, hinting at Ram Temple consecration ceremony on Monday. Banerjee condemned the Babri Masjid demolition and divisive politics and spoke about religious inclusiveness.

    The Trinamool Supremo kicked off a ‘harmony procession’ on Monday after offering puja to Goddess Kali at Kalighat Temple, on the day of ‘pran pratishtha’ in Ram Temple at Ayodhya.

    “When the election comes, a group of people try to sell the country for the sake of votebank. You (BJP without naming them) are doing politics in time of election…Where were they (BJP) when Babri Masjid was demolished and people died here. Many areas in Kolkata were burning. I provided relief to people voluntarily and helped both Hindu and Muslims. This is history and reality which youth must know,” Mamata Banerjee said while speaking at a public rally following the harmony procession.

  • Ayodhya temple trust ropes in renowned sculptors to make Lord Ram’s idol

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW:  With the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya going on in full swing, Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust has roped in famous sculptors from across the country for making a model of the Ram Lalla idol to be installed in the under-construction temple in Ayodhya.

    The idol will be sculpted in line with depicting the deity in the form of a five-year-old child

    The Trust has asked the sculptors to present their models within the next 15 days and it would choose one to be installed in the Ram temple.

    Prominent among those who have pitched in for the task include Padma Vibhushan sculptor Sudarshan Sahoo and Vasudev Kamath of Odisha, KV Maniya of Karnataka and Shashtrayajya Deulkar of Pune. They all will send models of the statue measuring 8.5×12 inches.

    According to temple trust general secretary Champat Rai, stones with a hue of sky blue and grey combined from Maharashtra, Odisha and Karnataka are under consideration for preparing the idol of Ram Lalla.

    The decision to rope in renowned sculptors was taken by the temple trust after a two-day meeting of the Ram Mandir construction committee, headed by retired IAS officer Nripendra Mishra, that ended late on Thursday evening in Ayodhya.

    Champat Rai claimed that the stones would be finalised only after approving the model of the deity.

    As per the temple trust sources, the height of the statue will be around 8.5 feet to nine feet and it would be installed in the new temple around 35 ft away from the place provided for devotees to take the darshan in such a way that the sun rays could fall on the deity directly. The distance of 35 ft has been decided so as to make the devotees take the darshan of the deity from head to toe.

    Moreover, the new temple will have two idols of Lord Ram—movable and immovable(new idol) ones. The movable idol would be taken out of the temple on particular occasions but the new one would be installed permanently, said the trust sources.

    The Trust has also roped in top institutes of the country having expertise in architecture and building design to model the temple sanctum sanctorum in such a way that the sunlight falls on the forehead of Ram Lalla on every Ram Navami, the day of his birth at 12 noon. The temple trust has also set up a team of experts hailing from the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune, CSIR-CBRI of Roorkee and renowned temple architects for the purpose.

    The Trust aims at opening the sanctum sanctorum for public darshan on the day of Makarsankranti in 2024

    ALSO READ | Ram temple coming up on ‘land of hatred’: RJD

    LUCKNOW:  With the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya going on in full swing, Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust has roped in famous sculptors from across the country for making a model of the Ram Lalla idol to be installed in the under-construction temple in Ayodhya.

    The idol will be sculpted in line with depicting the deity in the form of a five-year-old child

    The Trust has asked the sculptors to present their models within the next 15 days and it would choose one to be installed in the Ram temple.

    Prominent among those who have pitched in for the task include Padma Vibhushan sculptor Sudarshan Sahoo and Vasudev Kamath of Odisha, KV Maniya of Karnataka and Shashtrayajya Deulkar of Pune. They all will send models of the statue measuring 8.5×12 inches.

    According to temple trust general secretary Champat Rai, stones with a hue of sky blue and grey combined from Maharashtra, Odisha and Karnataka are under consideration for preparing the idol of Ram Lalla.

    The decision to rope in renowned sculptors was taken by the temple trust after a two-day meeting of the Ram Mandir construction committee, headed by retired IAS officer Nripendra Mishra, that ended late on Thursday evening in Ayodhya.

    Champat Rai claimed that the stones would be finalised only after approving the model of the deity.

    As per the temple trust sources, the height of the statue will be around 8.5 feet to nine feet and it would be installed in the new temple around 35 ft away from the place provided for devotees to take the darshan in such a way that the sun rays could fall on the deity directly. The distance of 35 ft has been decided so as to make the devotees take the darshan of the deity from head to toe.

    Moreover, the new temple will have two idols of Lord Ram—movable and immovable(new idol) ones. The movable idol would be taken out of the temple on particular occasions but the new one would be installed permanently, said the trust sources.

    The Trust has also roped in top institutes of the country having expertise in architecture and building design to model the temple sanctum sanctorum in such a way that the sunlight falls on the forehead of Ram Lalla on every Ram Navami, the day of his birth at 12 noon. The temple trust has also set up a team of experts hailing from the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune, CSIR-CBRI of Roorkee and renowned temple architects for the purpose.

    The Trust aims at opening the sanctum sanctorum for public darshan on the day of Makarsankranti in 2024

    ALSO READ | Ram temple coming up on ‘land of hatred’: RJD

  • I&B ministry blocks Pak-based OTT for anti-India TV series

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  The ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) on Monday issued directions for blocking a Pakistan-based OTT platform’s website, two mobile applications, four social media accounts and a smart TV app, saying a series being shown by it was detrimental to India’s national security and integrity.

    The platform Vidly TV released a web series titled “Sevak: The Confessions” on the anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and was found to be detrimental to the national security, sovereignty and integrity of India.

    Three episodes of the web series have been released till date, it said. This is for the first time; the ministry has blocked the OTT platform service based in Pakistan. It has been issuing directions to block social media handles and youtube channels, which would run an anti-India agenda and spread fake news.   

    “Action against Pakistan-based Vidly TV follows the assessment that the provocative and wholly untrue web series “Sevak” was sponsored by Pakistan’s info ops apparatus. First (of 3) episode was released on 26.11.2022, the anniversary of Pakistani terror attacks on Mumbai in 2008,” senior adviser at the ministry Kanchan Gupta said on Twitter.

    The web series portrayed an anti-India narrative on sensitive historical events and subjects of national importance such as Operation Blue Star and its aftermath, the demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya, the killing of a Christian missionary named Graham Staines, Malegaon blasts, Samjhauta Express blasts and inter-state river water dispute related to Sutlej Yamuna Link canal.

    “The web series portrayed an anti-India narrative on sensitive historical events and subjects of national importance…Promoting hatred in the people against the Government of India: The series contains several dialogues such as passing of wounds by the Sikh people to their next generations in the context of Operation Blue Star,” said the ministry.

    NEW DELHI:  The ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) on Monday issued directions for blocking a Pakistan-based OTT platform’s website, two mobile applications, four social media accounts and a smart TV app, saying a series being shown by it was detrimental to India’s national security and integrity.

    The platform Vidly TV released a web series titled “Sevak: The Confessions” on the anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and was found to be detrimental to the national security, sovereignty and integrity of India.

    Three episodes of the web series have been released till date, it said. This is for the first time; the ministry has blocked the OTT platform service based in Pakistan. It has been issuing directions to block social media handles and youtube channels, which would run an anti-India agenda and spread fake news.   

    “Action against Pakistan-based Vidly TV follows the assessment that the provocative and wholly untrue web series “Sevak” was sponsored by Pakistan’s info ops apparatus. First (of 3) episode was released on 26.11.2022, the anniversary of Pakistani terror attacks on Mumbai in 2008,” senior adviser at the ministry Kanchan Gupta said on Twitter.

    The web series portrayed an anti-India narrative on sensitive historical events and subjects of national importance such as Operation Blue Star and its aftermath, the demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya, the killing of a Christian missionary named Graham Staines, Malegaon blasts, Samjhauta Express blasts and inter-state river water dispute related to Sutlej Yamuna Link canal.

    “The web series portrayed an anti-India narrative on sensitive historical events and subjects of national importance…Promoting hatred in the people against the Government of India: The series contains several dialogues such as passing of wounds by the Sikh people to their next generations in the context of Operation Blue Star,” said the ministry.

  • December 6: Babri Masjid demolition remembered

    By Online Desk

    CHENNAI: India on Tuesday remembered the demolition of Babri Masjid by a mob of Kar Sevaks at Ayodhya 30 years ago.

    Dr Audrey Truschke, Associate Prof of South Asian history at Rutgers University-Newark noted in a tweet that, “A priceless piece of Indian heritage, destroyed by an iconoclastic Hindu nationalist mob 30 years ago, today.”

    A priceless piece of Indian heritage, destroyed by an iconoclastic Hindu nationalist mob 30 years ago, today.#BabriMasjid #heritage #Hindutva pic.twitter.com/f6unIOdHmH
    — Dr. Audrey Truschke (@AudreyTruschke) December 6, 2022
    A special CBI court in Lucknow on September 30, 2020 had acquitted all those, including prominent BJP leaders L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharati, who were accused of conspiracy in the case. The court ruled out the conspiracy theories in the demolition of the Mughal era monument.

    On the 30th anniversary of the demolition, Muslim women organised a protest in Hyderabad and raised black flags in Saidabad area on Monday, reports said.

    AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi took to Twitter to state that December 6 would remain a black day for Indian democracy. “The desecration and demolition of #BabriMasjid is a symbol of injustice. Those responsible for its destruction were never convicted. We will not forget it & we will ensure that future generations remember it too,” he added.

    In Kolkata, the civil society, including political personalities, teachers, and renowned journalists, reportedly recollected the fateful day in Indian history.  The left parties took out a rally on Tuesday, NewsClick reported.

    In a report, NewsClick quoted journalist and editor of the national daily Times of India, Sougata Roy, as saying that December 6 was an assault on the secular fabric of the country, and the danger persists even today. “Those who did it, didn’t only demolish a mosque but attacked the very premises of the Constitution. Also, it is a fact that the Supreme Court later allowed the construction of Ram Mandir in the same place. What surprised me on that day (December 6, 1992) was how a city, which was otherwise accommodative and friendly to all religions, changed overnight, showing communal shades in the society,” he said. 

    The report also quoted poet Mandakranta Sen as saying that December 6 is a black day for democracy in the country, and every December 6, “we double our resolves to fight against the communal hate mongers.” He said, “The fundamentalists eat, drink and make merry with religions. December 6 is a day to realise not to damage any place of worship but to take everybody along towards the goal of people being able to sleep with a full belly at night.”

    A five-judge constitution bench of the apex court had on November 9, 2019, cleared the way for the construction of a Ram Temple at the disputed site at Ayodhya and directed the Centre to allot a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque. Following this, a Bhoomi puja was held for the construction of the Ram temple at the Babri Masjid demolition site.

    CHENNAI: India on Tuesday remembered the demolition of Babri Masjid by a mob of Kar Sevaks at Ayodhya 30 years ago.

    Dr Audrey Truschke, Associate Prof of South Asian history at Rutgers University-Newark noted in a tweet that, “A priceless piece of Indian heritage, destroyed by an iconoclastic Hindu nationalist mob 30 years ago, today.”

    A priceless piece of Indian heritage, destroyed by an iconoclastic Hindu nationalist mob 30 years ago, today.#BabriMasjid #heritage #Hindutva pic.twitter.com/f6unIOdHmH
    — Dr. Audrey Truschke (@AudreyTruschke) December 6, 2022
    A special CBI court in Lucknow on September 30, 2020 had acquitted all those, including prominent BJP leaders L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharati, who were accused of conspiracy in the case. The court ruled out the conspiracy theories in the demolition of the Mughal era monument.

    On the 30th anniversary of the demolition, Muslim women organised a protest in Hyderabad and raised black flags in Saidabad area on Monday, reports said.

    AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi took to Twitter to state that December 6 would remain a black day for Indian democracy. “The desecration and demolition of #BabriMasjid is a symbol of injustice. Those responsible for its destruction were never convicted. We will not forget it & we will ensure that future generations remember it too,” he added.

    In Kolkata, the civil society, including political personalities, teachers, and renowned journalists, reportedly recollected the fateful day in Indian history.  The left parties took out a rally on Tuesday, NewsClick reported.

    In a report, NewsClick quoted journalist and editor of the national daily Times of India, Sougata Roy, as saying that December 6 was an assault on the secular fabric of the country, and the danger persists even today. “Those who did it, didn’t only demolish a mosque but attacked the very premises of the Constitution. Also, it is a fact that the Supreme Court later allowed the construction of Ram Mandir in the same place. What surprised me on that day (December 6, 1992) was how a city, which was otherwise accommodative and friendly to all religions, changed overnight, showing communal shades in the society,” he said. 

    The report also quoted poet Mandakranta Sen as saying that December 6 is a black day for democracy in the country, and every December 6, “we double our resolves to fight against the communal hate mongers.” He said, “The fundamentalists eat, drink and make merry with religions. December 6 is a day to realise not to damage any place of worship but to take everybody along towards the goal of people being able to sleep with a full belly at night.”

    A five-judge constitution bench of the apex court had on November 9, 2019, cleared the way for the construction of a Ram Temple at the disputed site at Ayodhya and directed the Centre to allot a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque. Following this, a Bhoomi puja was held for the construction of the Ram temple at the Babri Masjid demolition site.

  • December 6: Babri Masjid demolition remembered as ‘black day’

    By Online Desk

    CHENNAI: India on Tuesday remembered the demolition of Babri Masjid by a mob of Kar Sevaks at Ayodhya 30 years ago.

    Dr Audrey Truschke, Associate Prof of South Asian history at Rutgers University-Newark noted in a tweet that, “A priceless piece of Indian heritage, destroyed by an iconoclastic Hindu nationalist mob 30 years ago, today.”

    A priceless piece of Indian heritage, destroyed by an iconoclastic Hindu nationalist mob 30 years ago, today.#BabriMasjid #heritage #Hindutva pic.twitter.com/f6unIOdHmH
    — Dr. Audrey Truschke (@AudreyTruschke) December 6, 2022
    A special CBI court in Lucknow on September 30, 2020 had acquitted all those, including prominent BJP leaders L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharati, who were accused of conspiracy in the case. The court ruled out the conspiracy theories in the demolition of the Mughal era monument.

    On the 30th anniversary of the demolition, Muslim women organised a protest in Hyderabad and raised black flags in Saidabad area on Monday, reports said.

    AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi took to Twitter to state that December 6 would remain a black day for Indian democracy. “The desecration and demolition of #BabriMasjid is a symbol of injustice. Those responsible for its destruction were never convicted. We will not forget it & we will ensure that future generations remember it too,” he added.

    In Kolkata, the civil society, including political personalities, teachers, and renowned journalists, reportedly recollected the fateful day in Indian history.  The left parties took out a rally on Tuesday, NewsClick reported.

    In a report, NewsClick quoted journalist and editor of the national daily Times of India, Sougata Roy, as saying that December 6 was an assault on the secular fabric of the country, and the danger persists even today.

    “Those who did it, didn’t only demolish a mosque but attacked the very premises of the Constitution. Also, it is a fact that the Supreme Court later allowed the construction of Ram Mandir in the same place. What surprised me on that day (December 6, 1992) was how a city, which was otherwise accommodative and friendly to all religions, changed overnight, showing communal shades in the society,” he said. 

    The report also quoted poet Mandakranta Sen as saying that December 6 is a black day for democracy in the country, and every December 6, “we double our resolves to fight against the communal hate mongers.”

    He said, “The fundamentalists eat, drink and make merry with religions. December 6 is a day to realise not to damage any place of worship but to take everybody along towards the goal of people being able to sleep with a full belly at night.”

    A five-judge constitution bench of the apex court had on November 9, 2019, cleared the way for the construction of a Ram Temple at the disputed site at Ayodhya and directed the Centre to allot a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque. Following this, a Bhoomi puja was held for the construction of the Ram temple at the Babri Masjid demolition site.

    CHENNAI: India on Tuesday remembered the demolition of Babri Masjid by a mob of Kar Sevaks at Ayodhya 30 years ago.

    Dr Audrey Truschke, Associate Prof of South Asian history at Rutgers University-Newark noted in a tweet that, “A priceless piece of Indian heritage, destroyed by an iconoclastic Hindu nationalist mob 30 years ago, today.”

    A priceless piece of Indian heritage, destroyed by an iconoclastic Hindu nationalist mob 30 years ago, today.#BabriMasjid #heritage #Hindutva pic.twitter.com/f6unIOdHmH
    — Dr. Audrey Truschke (@AudreyTruschke) December 6, 2022
    A special CBI court in Lucknow on September 30, 2020 had acquitted all those, including prominent BJP leaders L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharati, who were accused of conspiracy in the case. The court ruled out the conspiracy theories in the demolition of the Mughal era monument.

    On the 30th anniversary of the demolition, Muslim women organised a protest in Hyderabad and raised black flags in Saidabad area on Monday, reports said.

    AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi took to Twitter to state that December 6 would remain a black day for Indian democracy. “The desecration and demolition of #BabriMasjid is a symbol of injustice. Those responsible for its destruction were never convicted. We will not forget it & we will ensure that future generations remember it too,” he added.

    In Kolkata, the civil society, including political personalities, teachers, and renowned journalists, reportedly recollected the fateful day in Indian history.  The left parties took out a rally on Tuesday, NewsClick reported.

    In a report, NewsClick quoted journalist and editor of the national daily Times of India, Sougata Roy, as saying that December 6 was an assault on the secular fabric of the country, and the danger persists even today.

    “Those who did it, didn’t only demolish a mosque but attacked the very premises of the Constitution. Also, it is a fact that the Supreme Court later allowed the construction of Ram Mandir in the same place. What surprised me on that day (December 6, 1992) was how a city, which was otherwise accommodative and friendly to all religions, changed overnight, showing communal shades in the society,” he said. 

    The report also quoted poet Mandakranta Sen as saying that December 6 is a black day for democracy in the country, and every December 6, “we double our resolves to fight against the communal hate mongers.”

    He said, “The fundamentalists eat, drink and make merry with religions. December 6 is a day to realise not to damage any place of worship but to take everybody along towards the goal of people being able to sleep with a full belly at night.”

    A five-judge constitution bench of the apex court had on November 9, 2019, cleared the way for the construction of a Ram Temple at the disputed site at Ayodhya and directed the Centre to allot a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque. Following this, a Bhoomi puja was held for the construction of the Ram temple at the Babri Masjid demolition site.

  • Country will be ruined if movement begins to save Gyanvapi mosque, Shahi Idgah: Babri case plaintiff

    By PTI

    AYODHYA: Main plaintiff in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case Haji Mahboob has claimed that the country will be ruined if Muslims begin a movement to save the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi and the Shahi Idgah in Mathura.

    He alleged that after the Babri mosque, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is now conspiring to take away the Gyanvapi mosque and the Shahi Idgah.

    “They should forget about taking away the two mosques forcibly as there will be a big movement to save the Gyanvapi mosque and the Idgah in Mathura, and Muslims will not back down this time,” Mahboob said.

    “Gyanvapi Masjid will remain where it is. A propaganda is being created that a Shivling has been found. It is indeed a fountain in the mosque’s wazookhana,” he said.

    Talking about the Babri mosque verdict, Mahboob said, “The Supreme Court in its Ayodhya verdict, even after accepting every thing in favour of Babri Masjid, awarded the decree in favour of Ram Mandir. We remained silent and allowed the Ayodhya issue to get resolved,” he added.

    While a Varanasi court is hearing a petition of a group of women seeking the right to worship daily the Hindu idols on the outer wall of the Gyanvapi mosque, a Mathura district court on Thursday said a plea seeking to remove the Shahi Idgah Masjid from the complex it shares with the Katra Keshav Dev Temple is admissible.

  • Kalyan Singh: Hindutva icon under whose watch Babri Masjid fell in1992

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: The defining moment in Kalyan Singh’s life was the fall of Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992.

    Just hours after mobs of kar sevaks demolished it, Singh quit as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh owning moral responsibility.

    Not that he had any regrets over his “failure” to save the mosque which he had assured the Supreme Court would be protected.

    “Maybe it was destined that the structure would be demolished with me as chief minister,” he told a newspaper ahead of the 2020 “bhoomi pujan” for the Ram temple, now being built at the once disputed site in Ayodhya after a historic Supreme Court verdict.

    “Had there been no demolition, probably the courts too would have ordered status quo,” he said then.

    And his last wish, he said, was to live till the temple comes up.

    Singh, a Hindutva icon and a Bharatiya Janata Party veteran, died at a Lucknow hospital on Saturday.

    He was 89.

    Hailed by many for his administrative acumen during his two stints as Uttar Pradesh chief minister, the influential backward caste leader from western UP parted ways twice with the BJP and has briefly also floated his own outfits.

    His second parting was in 2009, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, when he said he felt “humiliated” by the party and complained that he had hardly any say in the selection of candidates in his state.

    Singh said it was a “political blunder” to have rejoined the BJP, which he had left the first time n 1999, only to return in 2004 before the General Election.

    Born on January 5, 1932, Kalyan Singh first became an MLA in 1967.

    Since then, he won the assembly polls several times, held important posts in the BJP and was appointed Rajasthan Governor in the last phase of his public life.

    Soon after his Raj Bhavan term ended in 2019, Singh formally rejoined the BJP as a primary member, signalling that he was not keen on retiring from political life just yet.

    Back in 1991, he became the first BJP chief minister of the country’s most populous state.

    A little over a year later, the Babri Masjid was demolished as the Sangh Parivar campaign to build the temple at the same spot picked momentum.

    As UP’s chief minister, Singh had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, assuring that the 16th century mosque will be protected.

    But he had also ordered police not to open fire at protesters, arguing later that any such action would have led to much bloodshed.

    Admitting failure to protect the mosque, he resigned the same evening.

    The state assembly was dissolved as riots erupted at several places in the country.

    In the next assembly elections in November 1993, he contested from two seats —- Atrauli and Kasganj — and won both.

    A Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party combine formed the government in the state under Mulayam Singh Yadav, even though the BJP won the largest number of seats.

    Singh was Leader of the Opposition in the UP Assembly.

    He got his second shot at the top post in September 1997, becoming CM again under a six-month rotation formula with the Bahujan Samaj Party.

    The arrangement collapsed soon with the BSP withdrawing support.

    But, backed by a group of disgruntled opposition members, his government survived.

    A controversial order by Governor Romesh Bhandari dismissing his government was also stayed by the high court.

    But a section of BJP MLAs was gunning for him.

    One reason for the dissent was the alleged interference in the state government by Lucknow corporator Kusum Rai, who was also said to control access to the chief minister.

    As opposition within the BJP mounted, Kalyan Singh was removed from the CM’s post by the party high command in November 1999.

    Later, he was also formally expelled from the party over remarks targeting the party’s top leadership.

    Singh appeared to cosy up with Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, who offered a ticket to his son Rajvir Singh.

    In 2010, he also floated the Jan Kranti Party, but let his son head it – till it “merged” with the BJP.

    All these years, the Babri Masjid demolition case trial dragged on.

    Singh enjoyed immunity from trial as he held a gubernatorial post.

    After demitting office as Rajasthan Governor, he appeared before the CBI court which pronounced its order in September 2020, acquitting him and 31 others accused of conspiracy to demolish the mosque.

    The judge concluded that there was no evidence to show that the demolition was pre-planned.

    He was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Sanjay Gandhi Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences here on the evening of July 4 due to an infection and reduced consciousness levels.

    Before being shifted to the PGI, the former chief minister was undergoing treatment at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences here.

  • Babri demolition case: HC adjourns for two weeks hearing on plea against acquittal of accused

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: The Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing in the petition filed last week to challenge the acquittal of the accused in the Babri mosque demolition case.

    Hearing the matter, the single-judge bench comprising Justice Rakesh Srivastava adjourned the matter for two weeks asking the petitioners to correct the documentary mistakes in the plea. The court asked the registry to list the case after two weeks.

    Even the petitioners had pleaded to the court to give time to remove certain defects in their case file.

    Two Ayodhya residents — Haji Mahboob (74) and Sayyad Akhlaq Ahmad (81) — had moved a revision petition in the Lucknow bench on Friday challenging the order of the special CBI court which had acquitted all 32 accused persons, including former deputy PM LK Advani and other BJP leaders.

    The Special CBI judge SK Yadav had delivered the order in the Babri mosque demolition case on September 30, 2020, his last day in office. The mosque was demolished by a mob of karsevaks on December 6, 1992.

    The petitioners were also party to the Ayodhya title suit in the Supreme Court and CBI witnesses in the mosque demolition case. The revision petition was moved on behalf of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB).

    The revisionists had urged the High Court to summon the records from the trial court, hold all the 32 accused guilty and extend suitable punishment to them, setting the order of the special CBI court aside.

    Prominent among those who were exonerated by the court in the mosque demolition case included former Union minister Dr MM Joshi, Uma Bharti, the then UP CM Kalyan Singh, Vinay Katiyar, Sadhvi Ritambhara and Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

    Representing the two petitioners in the court, senior lawyer and convenor of Babri Masjid Action Committee Zafaryab Jilani had said while filing the petition that since the CBI did not move against the special court judgement in the case, the two petitioners had to file the revision petition.

  • Court verdict – Babri Masjid demolition was not pre-planned; All accused including Advani, Joshi, Uma acquitted

    On December 6, 1992, a special court of Judge Surendra Kumar Yadav pronounced his verdict after 28 years in the criminal case of demolishing the disputed structure in Ayodhya. The judge read the verdict stating that the demolition was not a pre-planned but an accidental event. The special court has acquitted LK Advani, Murali Manohar Joshi and Kalyan Singh all the accused. 

    In this case, 49 people were accused. Of this, 17 have died. Lawyers for the CBI and the accused have filed a written debate of about eight hundred pages. Earlier, CBI has produced 351 witnesses and more than 600 documentary evidence. On September 30, 2019, Surendra Kumar Yadav retired from the post of District Judge, Lucknow, but the service was extended till the Supreme Court gave his verdict. The final decision of the tenure of Special Judge Surendra Kumar Yadav will be taken on September 30. According to CBI lawyer Lalit Singh, this is the longest trial of any trial in his judicial life. He has been hearing the case since 2015. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted: I welcome the decision of the special court of Lucknow not to join any conspiracy of 32 people including Shri LK Advani, Shri Kalyan Singh, Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi, Umaji in Babri Masjid demolition case. I am It has been proved by this decision that justice has been won by the late justice.