Do You Know: How The Babri Masjid Demolition Went Unpunished
The 2022 decision to acquit all the accused in the Babri Masjid demolition conspiracy case, which included senior BJP and VHP leaders, was not challenged in the Supreme Court. Despite the significance of the acquittal and its implications, there was no legal appeal filed to contest the judgment in the highest court of the land. The absence of an appeal left the decision to stand without further scrutiny by the apex court. This lack of challenge to the 2022 verdict raised questions about the closure of the legal chapter related to the Babri Masjid demolition and the subsequent legal proceedings.
The road to the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, sanctioned by the Supreme Court in 2019, was paved by the destructive events of December 6, 1992. On this day, a mob of ‘karsevaks’ gathered in Ayodhya, responding to the call of Sangh parivar leaders, and demolished the Babri Masjid. Despite the Supreme Court’s characterization of this act as an “egregious violation of the rule of law,” the perpetrators went unpunished. The legal battle surrounding the land title concluded on November 9, 2022, when the Supreme Court awarded the disputed land to Hindus for the construction of the Ram temple while recognizing the illegality of the 1992 demolition.
The culmination of the Babri Masjid’s destruction and the prolonged legal dispute set the stage for the pran pratishtha ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22. Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over this event, marked by significant state involvement in what is ostensibly a Hindu religious ceremony. Champat Rai, previously a key accused in the Babri Masjid demolition, is now the main coordinator of the Ram Mandir event in his capacity as the general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
A year after the Supreme Court’s verdict, a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Lucknow acquitted all 32 living accused in the Babri Masjid demolition conspiracy case. Most of these accused individuals were linked to the Sangh parivar, specifically the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), affiliated with the Hindu nationalist outfit Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Senior BJP leaders, including L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, Vinay Katiyar, and former UP chief minister Kalyan Singh, were among those charged and subsequently acquitted. Two Muslim litigants, Haji Mehboob and Syed Akhlaq Ahmad, approached the Allahabad High Court against the CBI court judgment. However, on November 9, 2022, a division bench of the Allahabad High Court dismissed their appeal, stating that Mehboob and Ahmad could not be defined as ‘victims,’ lacking the standing to challenge the CBI court judgment.
Despite discussions within legal circles, there was no challenge to this decision in the apex court. M.R. Shamshad, a Supreme Court lawyer involved in the Babri Masjid cases, mentioned that Mehboob chose not to approach the Supreme Court, as their assessment was that it would serve no purpose.
The All-India Muslim Personal Law Board had initially announced its intention to challenge the high court’s dismissal of the appeal in 2022, but there is uncertainty regarding whether such an appeal was filed. R.K. Yadav, the CBI counsel, indicated that, to his knowledge, the CBI did not file an appeal against the 2020 judgment.
The Babri Masjid demolition case, spanning almost three decades in various courts of Uttar Pradesh, originated on December 6, 1992, when a large number of karsevaks assembled in Ayodhya. Armed with various tools, the frenzied mob breached police barriers, entered the Ram Chabutra in front of the mosque, and eventually climbed atop the mosque. Tear gas shells fired by the police had no impact on them, as they had applied “facepacks and chemicals” to protect themselves.
The Babri Masjid was swiftly turned to dust by the karsevaks. While a total of 49 FIRs were filed, the CBI trial primarily focused on two main crimes related to the demolition and the conspiracy behind it. The first FIR (no. 197) charged unnamed kar sevaks with offenses such as dacoity, robbery, causing hurt, injuring, defiling a place of worship, and promoting enmity on grounds of religion. The second FIR (no. 198) was lodged against eight individuals, including L.K. Advani, Uma Bharti, Vinay Katiyar, Murli Manohar Joshi, Sadhvi Ritambhara, Ashok Singhal, Giriraj Kishore, and V.H. Dalmia, on the allegation of inciting violence through provocative speeches and exhortations.
Beyond the primary charge of criminal conspiracy, the accused faced additional charges such as rioting, unlawful assembly, promoting enmity between different groups, delivering imputations prejudicial to national integration, and making statements conducing to public mischief. Other FIRs were lodged based on complaints from journalists who were attacked by karsevaks, resulting in damage to their equipment.
The legal proceedings saw the CBI taking charge of all 49 FIRs, with various trials and courts established to address the multiple aspects of the case. The Supreme Court, in April 2017, used its extraordinary constitutional powers under Article 142 to reinstate criminal conspiracy charges against Advani and others. This overruled the Allahabad High Court’s decision in 2010 to drop the conspiracy charges, which had been upheld by the CBI court in 2001.
Following the Supreme Court’s directions, the special CBI court in Lucknow framed charges under criminal conspiracy against Advani and several other accused, most linked to the Sangh parivar. The Rae Bareli trial was transferred and combined with the Lucknow case pending before a CBI Special Court. A comprehensive trial ensued, involving 351 prosecution witnesses, including journalists who covered the demolition.
The judge rejected the charges of criminal conspiracy, noting that the chargesheet lacked evidence showing that the accused individuals had “got together in common intent” with a group of “hooligan karsevaks” to bring down the mosque. Yadav observed that a group of unruly karsevaks, in a moment of sudden agitation, engaged in violence despite appeals from senior VHP leader Ashok Singhal to retreat.
The evidence presented by the CBI, including newspaper clippings, video cassettes, tape records, printed material, speeches, and witness testimonies, led Yadav to conclude that there was no moment when the accused persons gathered in a room to plan the scheme to demolish the structure.
Yadav also remarked that it was “not credible” for some witnesses to point to accused individuals exhorting karsevaks to demolish the mosque, given the dust and chaos inside the complex filled with lakhs of karsevaks. Discrepancies were noted regarding the distance of the disputed structure from the Katha Kunj dias, where the Sangh parivar leaders were seated, with some witnesses stating it was 800 meters away while others claimed it was 200-300 meters away.
The Babri demolition judgment, for many Muslims in and outside Ayodhya, was a moment filled with hope that the court would deliver justice and solace. However, the criminal act of December 6, 1992, in which the Babri Masjid was demolished, remained unpunished by law. To add to the frustration, several of the accused individuals involved in the demolition later went on to become Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) within the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over time
Khaliq Ahmad, a social activist and convenor of the Faizabad Hilal Committee, has closely monitored the events surrounding the Babri demolition and its aftermath. He expresses disappointment in the failure of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court to deliver justice. According to Ahmad, the act was committed in plain view of the entire world, with photos and videos of the demolition widely published. Despite the concrete evidence, he laments that it seems as if everyone decided to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the injustice that occurred.
While Ahmad holds the CBI court accountable for its perceived failure, he also points fingers at the Muslim intelligentsia and bodies, accusing them of not pursuing the demolition case with sufficient diligence. In his view, the lack of proactive efforts on the part of the Muslim community to seek justice has further contributed to the perceived injustice surrounding the Babri Masjid demolition.
For Ahmad, the Babri Masjid demolition verdict following the title suit judgment is seen as the latest injury inflicted upon the collective conscience of Muslims in recent decades. Drawing an analogy, he states that if a body has one wound, it can be identified and treated, but when the entire body is wounded, it becomes challenging to pinpoint where the pain is emanating from. This metaphor reflects the deep sense of collective pain and injustice felt by many Muslims in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition and the legal proceedings that followed.