A special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Lucknow will pronounce the judgement in the nearly three-decades-old criminal case relat...
A special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Lucknow will pronounce the judgement in the nearly three-decades-old criminal case related to the Babri Masjid demolition on Wednesday. CBI judge Surendra Kumar Yadav is expected to pronounce the verdict at 10 am.
The Babri Masjid, located in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, was demolished by Hindutva extremists on December 6, 1992, because they believed that it stood on land that was the birthplace of deity Ram.
Last month, the Supreme Court had set September 30 as the deadline to complete the trial and deliver a verdict. It had directed all 32 accused, including Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and Kalyan Singh, to be present in court on the day of the hearing.
However, these four leaders will not be present. Advani, who is 92 years old, and the 86-year-old Joshi are exempt due to the coronavirus pandemic, Bharti has contracted Covid-19 and is under treatment, while Singh is recovering from the infection, according to NDTV. About 26 of the 32 accused are expected to be present in court.
Arguments of the defence and prosecution concluded on September 1, after which the special judge began writing the verdict. The CBI had produced almost 351 witnesses and 600...
