On Tuesday, a special CBI court in Lucknow charged former deputy prime minister L K Advani, senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, Union minister Uma Bharti and several others with criminal conspiracy in the case over the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid.

What the court did

When proceedings opened, counsel for the six leaders moved a bail application on their behalf, and the judge released every accused on bail against a personal bond of Rs 50,000 each. All 12 accused then asked to be discharged from the conspiracy charge, arguing that they had no role in the demolition and had not been shown evidence supporting it. Special judge S K Yadav rejected the plea, and Section 120 B of the IPC, which deals with criminal conspiracy, was added against them.

Those present in court, as directed, included:

• L K Advani, 89
• Murli Manohar Joshi, 83
• Uma Bharti, 58
• Vinay Katiyar, BJP MP, 62
• Sadhvi Ritambhara, 53
• Vishnu Hari Dalmiya, 89

Six other accused, who had been given bail at earlier hearings, also appeared:

• Nritya Gopal Das, head of the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust
• Ram Vilas Vedanti
• Baikunth Lal Sharma, also known as Prem Ji
• Champat Rai Bansal
• Dharma Das
• Satish Pradhan

The accused stayed in court for nearly three hours before the charges were framed.

Charges and the case so far

The accused were already charged with making assertions harmful to national integration and with damaging or desecrating a place of worship. The further charges cover acts meant to outrage religious feelings, statements causing public mischief, and rioting and unlawful assembly. If convicted, they face up to five years in jail, a fine, or both.

The CBI had chargesheeted 21 Sangh Parivar members after the 1992 demolition, accusing them of inciting crowds and conspiring to bring down the disputed structure. Several have since died, including Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, Mahant Avaidyanath, Paramhans Ram Chandra Das, Ashok Singhal and Acharya Giriraj Kishore of the VHP. Kalyan Singh, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh at the time, was also among the accused but has constitutional immunity as governor of Rajasthan. These leaders were named in a separate FIR; the main FIR was against the lakhs of karsewaks.

Next steps

Hearings were to continue on Wednesday with the examination of prosecution witnesses. The Supreme Court has ordered day-to-day hearings so that the case is completed within two years. Before the hearing, the accused BJP leaders were welcomed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at the VVIP guest house in Lucknow.

See also: political leaders

Originally published on 31 May 2017. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us