New Delhi: The opposition parties on Wednesday expressed outrage over the judgment of a CBI court in Lucknow acquitting all the 32 accused in the Babri mosque demolition case and termed the ruling as “travesty of justice”.
Calling the judgement “obnoxious”, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi claimed it contradicted the Supreme Court’s observations in its verdict on November 9 last year that the demolition of the Babri mosque was calculated act of destroying a public place of worship and a violation of rule of law.
…If the Supreme Court says that egregious violation of rule of law, was masjid sacrificed on December 6 (1992) by any magic ? Were the idols kept by magic in 1949? Were the locks opened when Rajiv Gandhi was prime minister by magic? That’s why I say that today’s judgement came in contradiction to what the Supreme Court said, he told reporters here.
Questioning how there was no conspiracy behind the pulling down of the structure; he asked who had called for the huge gathering of people and who facilitated it.
Isn’t it true that the CBI charge-sheet said that then Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh said rok construction par hai, destruction par nahi hai’ (curbs are on construction, not destruction), Owaisi said.
Maintaining that all these were facts, he sought to know how all the accused have been exonerated.
As a “proud Indian Muslim”, he had felt helpless and humiliated when the Babri mosque was demolished in 1992 and he felt the same today, Owaisi said, alleging justice had been denied on the matter since 1950.
Terming the CBI court’s ruling as “obnoxious,” Owaisi said the CBI must appeal against the judgement to protect its independence.
He would also urge the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) to challenge the ‘strange’ judgement which rewarded those who created the issue of Ram mandir.
“This judgement satisfies the collective consciousness of Hindutva and its followers and ideology, the AIMIM leader said.
Congress leader Ahmed Patel said, “The Babri verdict is shocking, it goes contrary to principles of natural justice and even the SC’s observation.”
Senior IUML Lok Sabha member P.K. Kunhalikutty told the media: “One wonders if justice has been delivered in this case.”
“Even the apex court of the country had earlier said that it was an unlawful act what happened then.”
Left parties too slammed the ruling terming it as “travesty of justice” that will “blemish the image of India as a secular-democratic country governed by the Constitution”
“The acquittals amount to a travesty of justice. It took 28 long years for this verdict but not justice to be delivered. All the top leaders of the BJP-VHP-RSS who were present at the scene guiding the criminal act have been found to be innocent of the charge of conspiracy to demolish the mosque,” the CPI(M) politburo said in a statement.
“The Supreme Court, in its Ayodhya judgment on November 9 last year, had called the demolition an egregious violation of the law. Now, the Lucknow court has found the main perpetrators of this crime not guilty,” it said.
The Left party said the verdict will “blemish the image of India as a secular-democratic country governed by the Constitution”.
“The CBI must immediately appeal against this judgment,” it added.
CPI general secretary D Raja in a separate statement said his party was shocked and dismayed by the verdict.
The Party feels that the verdict which is a travesty of justice is an assault on the functioning of an independent institution as the Supreme Court has earlier in a verdict termed the demolition as an illegal and criminal act.
It is a well-known fact that on intense campaign along with Ratha Yatra was carried out by RSS-BJP leaders for mobilising people against the Babri Masjid which finally resulted in its demolition, he said.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also termed the decision of the special CBI court to acquit all the accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case as “surprising”.
In his tweet, Gehlot said, “The decision of the Special Court to acquit all the accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case is surprising as an earlier Supreme Court verdict held that the demolition was a clear illegality and egregious violation of the rule of law.”
“The Special Court now delivers a verdict which runs counter to the top court’s decision & also goes against the principles enshrined in the constitution. The nation knows how the whole episode was an attempt by BJP-RSS to destroy communal harmony in the country,” he said and tagged #BabriMasjidDemolitionCase in his tweet.
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 |  |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |
