Lucknow: A special court in Lucknow September 30 acquitted all 32 accused in the Babri mosque demolition case.

The demolition of the 16th century mosque was not planned, a judge said while acquitting former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani and others.

The 1992 demolition was preceded by a series of chariot processions led by Advani, who was then the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), that now heads the federal coalition government. The party also rules several states, including Uttar Pradesh where the Babri Masjid allegedly stood at the birthplace of Lord Ram in Ayodhya.

Judge Surendra Kumar Yadav of the special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) delivered the verdict.

Besides Advani, the key accused included former federal ministers Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh. Most senior leaders such as Advani and Joshi were not present in the Lucknow court when the judge started the proceedings. They joined the proceeding through video link.

The 32 accused faced charges under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including criminal conspiracy, rioting , promoting enmity between different groups and unlawful assembly. During the trial, the CBI produced 351 witnesses and 600 documents as evidence before the court. The court had initially framed charges against 49 accused; 17 accused have died.

The Uttar Pradesh police had earlier issued a high alert across the state in view of the verdict.

Source: ndtv.com, hindustantimes.com