Babri mosque demolition: BJP's Uma Bharti appears before CBI court

Senior BJP leader Uma Bharti today appeared in person before a special court in Lucknow which is conducting the trial in the 1992 Babri mosque demolition case.

The special CBI court is currently recording the statements of 32 accused under the code of criminal procedure or CrPC section 313 (court’s power to examine the accused), a stage in the trial that follows the examination of prosecution witnesses.

The 61-year-old BJP leader is the 19th accused to depose before the court in the over 27-year-old case.

Thirteen other alleged accused, including former Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani and senior BJP leaders Murli Manohar Joshi and Kalyan Singh are yet to be examined at this stage.

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Their lawyers have indicated to the CBI court that they prefer to appear through video conferencing. The mosque in Ayodhya was demolished in December 1992 by ‘kar sevaks’ who claimed that an ancient Ram temple had stood on the same site.

The CBI court is conducting day-to-day hearings to complete the trial by August 31, as directed by the Supreme Court.