Babri Verdict: 351 Witnesses, Yet ‘Insufficient Evidence’

Did the fact that it has been going on for close to three decades affect the handling of the case?

All 32 accused of plotting a conspiracy and incitement that led to the destruction of Babri Masjid were acquitted for lack of evidence.

(Photo: The Quint)

Twenty eight years after the Babri Masjid was demolished, all 32 accused of plotting a conspiracy and incitement that led to the destruction of the 15th century mosque were acquitted for lack of evidence. This includes some big names from the BJP and the Sangh Parivar such as LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Kalyan Singh and Uma Bharti among others.

Although the CBI special court examined as many as 351 prosecution witnesses — including journalists, locals and police/government officials — Special CBI judge SK Yadav observed there was no conclusive proof that the 1992 demolition was a pre-planned criminal conspiracy, and held that it was just a “spontaneous outpouring of emotions”.

In fact, he notes that some of the accused tried to stop the "anti-social elements" that were engaged in the destruction of the mosque.

Welcoming the verdict, Advani said that it is a vindication of his personal belief and the BJP’s belief and their commitment toward the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. Leaders of Opposition from the Congress, AIMIM and CPI(M) are all calling this a “travesty of justice” and asking who is it then that brought down the Babri Masjid.

The judgment is a whopping 2,300 pages and the finer details are yet to be reviewed fully, but how should we be looking at the verdict? Did the fact that it has been going on for close to 3 decades affect the handling of the case? Tune in to The Big Story!