Soon after a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court, in Lucknow, presided by special judge Surendra Kumar Yadav, on Wednesday, 30 September, acquitted all the 32 accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case, Congress leader Randeep Surjewala, in an official party statement, said that the judgment “runs counter to Supreme Court judgment as also the Constitutional spirit.”
On Wednesday, all of the accused, including former deputy prime minister LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Kalyan Singh, Uma Bharti, Vinay Katiyar, Sakshi Maharaj, were acquitted, citing lack of conclusive evidence against them for hatching the alleged conspiracy. The court also observed that the 1992 demolition was not premeditated.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Surjewala said that the demolition of Babri Masjid was an unlawful offense as per the 9 November 2019 decision of the Supreme Court bench of five judges.
The Congress party’s official statement adds, “Every Indian, who has innate faith in the Constitution as also in the spirit of communal amity and brotherhood, expects and urges the central and state governments to file an appeal against the decision of the Special Court.”
CPI(M) leader and politburo member Sitaram Yechury was among the handful of non-BJP political leaders to react directly to the verdict. “A complete travesty of Justice. All charged with criminal conspiracy to demolish Babri Masjid acquitted. It self imploded?” tweeted Yechury.
Calling the verdict a “shame”, Yechury added, “The Constitution Bench headed by then CJI had said that demolition was an 'egregious' violation of law. Now, this verdict!”
President of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, Asaduddin Owaisi, called it a “sad day in the history of Indian Judiciary”.
“Today is a sad day in the history of Indian Judiciary. Now, the court says there was no conspiracy. Please enlighten me, how many days of months of preparations are required to disqualify an action from being spontaneous?” he said, according to ANI.
“Was it some sort of magic that on 6 December the mosque was demolished? This judgment satisfies the collective consciousness of Hindutva and its followers and ideology,” Owaisi further said, according to PTI.
The All India Muslim Personal Law (AIMPL) Board, in a statement, alleged that this “judgement is far from justice”. Further, the board said that the judgment is neither based on evidence nor in accordance with the law.
Other political figures, activists and groups also took to Twitter to express their disappointment with the verdict.
BJP Leaders Hail Verdict
Senior BJP leaders, including ministers, tweeted to congratulate the acquitted individuals.
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted stating that he welcomes the judgment by the special Lucknow court.
“This judgment has proven that justice has prevailed even if belatedly so,” he said in his tweet.
Union Civil Aviation Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, congratulating LK Advani and other acquitted leaders, tweeted, “False narratives & conspiracy theories are finally laid to rest by Hon'ble CBI Court in historic Babri Masjid Demolition Verdict.”
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, welcoming the judgment, trained guns on the Congress, accusing the party of falsely implicating the accused.
“Congress government had framed saints, BJP leaders, VHP officials in false cases with intention to defame them. Those responsible for this conspiracy should apologise to people,” he said.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, reacting to the verdict, tweeted, “Truth can be harassed but not defeated!”
Echoing Rajnath, Chouhan also stated that, “Today, once again, truth has emerged victorious.”
Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar reacted saying the country is elated at the acquittal of LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and others.
Meanwhile, Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), in a statement, hailed the verdict as a victory of truth and justice.
Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut welcomed the verdict as well.
"I and my party Shiv Sena, welcome the judgment and congratulate Advani ji, Murli Manohar ji, Uma Bharti ji and the people who have been acquitted in the case,” Raut said, according to ANI.
“We should not forget the incident as grand Ram Mandir is now being built. If the Babri structure had not come down, we would not have seen the construction of the Ram temple,” Raut further said, according to Hindustan Times.
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