Indian court acquits all in Babri mosque demolition case

Nearly thirty years after the Babri Masjid was razed by a mob in Uttar Pradesh, a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Lucknow on Wednesday acquitted all 32 accused, including BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti, citing lack of evidence, reports The Indian Express newspaper.

The court reportedly said there was no conclusive proof against the accused. “They have been acquitted for lack of evidence,” defence lawyer KK Mishra was quoted to have said.

Twenty-six out of the 32 accused were reportedly present in the special court when the judgment was pronounced.

While BJP veterans skipped the proceedings, Vinay Katiyar, Dharamdas, Vedanti, Lallu Singh, Champat Rai, and Pawan Pandey were among the accused present in the court on Wednesday.

While Advani, Joshi, and co-accused Nritya Gopal Das are above 80 years of age Bharti and another accused, Satish Pardhan, are in hospital, said the Express report.

The case relates to the razing of the mosque structure in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.