All the 32 accused in the Babri mosque demolition case, including BJP veterans LK Advani and MM Joshi, were on Wednesday acquitted by a special CBI court here.
The court said there was no conclusive proof against the accused. The case relates to the razing of the disputed structure in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992.
LK Advani had often called it the ‘saddest day of his life’. Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad reportedly met the former Deputy PM after the verdict.
The 32 accused persons include former deputy prime minister Advani, former Union minister Joshi and Uma Bharti, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh, during whose tenure the structure was pulled down, besides Vinay Katiyar and Sadhvi Rithambara.
Champat Rai, the general secretary of the trust in charge of constructing the temple, is also among the accused.
The CBI, which went into the case, produced 351 witnesses and 600 documents as evidence before the court. Charges were framed against 48 people, but 16 had died during the course of the trial. Over two dozen of 32 accused were present.
Advani (92), Joshi (86), Bharti (61), Singh (88), Nritya Gopal Das and Satish Pradhan were not present in court.
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"I wholeheartedly welcome the judgement by the Special Court in Babri Masjid Demolition Case. The judgement vindicates my personal and BJP's belief and commitment toward the Ram Janmabhoomi movement," said LK Advani after being acquitted by Special CBI Court.
(With input from agencies)
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