Will%20the%20axe%20of%20the%20special%20Ayodhya%20court%20fall%20on%20any%20of%20the%20political%20bigwigs%20accused%20of%20demolition%20of%20the%2016th%20century%20Babri%20Masjid%20%2C%20when%20the%20judge%20sits%20down%20at%2011%20am%20on%20September%2030%20to%20pronounce%20the%20much%20awaited%20judgement.
That%20is%20the%20million%20dollar%20question%20doing%20rounds%20in%20political%20and%20social%20circles%20across%20India%2C%20as%20the%20fate%20of%20accused%20BJP%20stalwarts%20like%20Lal%20Krishna%20Advani%2C%20Murli%20Manohar%20Joshi%2C%20Kalyan%20Singh%2C%20and%20Uma%20Bharti%2C%20among%20others%20is%20to%20be%20decided%20in%20the%20verdict%20of%20the%20trial%20court.
The%20mosque%20was%20razed%20by%20violent%20karsewaks%2C%20who%20stormed%20the%20place%20in%20full%20view%20of%20top%20leaders%20of%20the%20then%20ruling%20Bharatiya%20Janata%20Party%20%28BJP%29%2C%20the%20Vishwa%20Hindu%20Parishad%20%28VHP%29%20and%20its%20other%20Hindu%20hardliner%20offshoots%20like%20Bajrang%20Dal%2C%20Durga%20Vahini.%20The%20passion%20for%20their%20ultimate%20mission%20was%20writ%20large%20in%20their%20%26nbsp%3Bcries%20of%20%u201Cek%20dhakka%20aur%20do%20%3B%20Babri%20Masjid%20tor%20do%u201D%2C%20%u201CRam%20Lalla%20Hum%20aaye%20hain%3B%20mandir%20yahin%20banayege%u201D%2C%20which%20came%20up%20intermittently%20between%20fiery%20and%20extremely%20provocative%20speeches%20by%20them.
Of%20the%2049%20accused%20originally%20picked%20up%20by%20the%20Central%20Bureau%20of%20Investigation%20%28CBI%29%20that%20was%20entrusted%20with%20the%20task%2028%20years%20ago%2C%20only%2032%20are%20expected%20to%20be%20present%20in%20the%20court%20tomorrow%2C%20as%2017%20have%20died%20over%20the%20years.%20Even%20three%20of%20them%20are%20understood%20to%20have%20been%20granted%20exemption%20from%20attendance%20as%20they%20have%20been%20found%20to%20be%20%26nbsp%3BCOVID-19%20positive.%20These%20are%20former%20UP%20chief%20minister%20and%20former%20Rajasthan%20Governor%20Kalyan%20Singh%2C%20former%20BJP%20minister%20and%20briefly%20Madhya%20Pradesh%20chief%20minister%20%26nbsp%3B%u2013%20the%20saffron%20clad%20Uma%20Bharti%20and%20Mahant%20Nritya%20Gopal%20Das%2C%20the%20octogenarian%20head%20of%20the%20Ram%20Janmabhoomi%20Trust.
Prominent%20among%20the%20other%20accused%20was%20also%20Vinay%20Katiyar%2C%20the%20then%20chief%20of%20Bajrang%20Dal%2C%20Sadhvi%20Rithambara%2C%20the%20vociferous%20Durga%20Vahini%2C%20who%20was%20known%20for%20her%20hate%20speeches%2C%20besides%20some%20Ayodhya-based%20seers%20-%20Acharya%20Dharmendra%20Dev%2C%20%26nbsp%3BDharam%20Das%2C%20Ram%20Vilas%20Vedanti%2C%20among%20others.%20%26nbsp%3B
Yet%20another%20prime%20accused%20Ashok%20Singhal%2C%20the%20powerful%20VHP%20chief%2C%20%26nbsp%3Bwho%20led%20the%20Ayodhya%20movement%20for%20decades%2C%20died%20in%20November%202015.
All%20eyes%20are%20now%20set%20on%20the%20special%20court%20as%20everyone%20keeps%20their%20fingers%20crossed.%20Despite%20much%20skepticism%2C%20there%20is%20finally%20an%20element%20of%20hope%20too%20at%20the%20end%20of%2028%20years%20during%20which%20the%20case%20saw%20several%20twists%20and%20turns%2C%20as%20well%20as%20ups%20and%20downs.
It%20was%20only%20following%20a%20firm%20diktat%20of%20the%20apex%20court%20that%20the%20case%20got%20a%20definite%20direction%20on%20April%2019%2C%202017.%20The%20case%20that%20was%20going%20on%20at%20its%20own%20lethargic%20pace%20for%20quarter%20of%20a%20century%2C%20finally%20began%20to%20be%20heard%20on%20a%20day-to-day%20basis.
Over%20the%20next%20one%20and%20a%20half%20month%2C%20the%20final%20charges%20were%20framed%20.%20Each%20of%20the%20accused%20were%20charged%20of%20conspiracy%20under%20Section%20120-B%20of%20IPC%20%2C%20as%20per%20the%20directions%20of%20the%20Supreme%20Court.
Other%20than%20criminal%20conspiracy%2C%20the%20only%20major%20charge%20to%20be%20framed%20against%20five%20persons%20was%20that%20of%20dacoity%20under%20section%20395%20IPC.%20And%20interestingly%2C%20two%20of%20these%20five%20were%20better%20known%20for%20their%20alleged%20criminal%20antecedents.%20These%20included%20Brij%20Bhushan%20Saran%20Singh%2C%20the%20alleged%20mafia%20don-turned-BJP%20MP%20from%20Gonda%20and%20Pawan%20Pandey%2C%20the%20then%20only%20Shiv%20Sena%20MLA%20from%20Akbarpur.%20%26nbsp%3B
And%20what%20led%20them%20to%20be%20charged%20of%20dacoity%20was%20their%20act%20of%20removing%20the%20stone%20plaque%20embedded%20on%20the%20mosque%20gate%2C%20which%20briefly%20spelt%20out%20its%20history.%20It%20is%20believed%20to%20have%20been%20put%20up%20by%20the%20builder%20of%20the%20mosque%2C%20Mir%20Baqi%2C%20the%20army%20commander%20of%20Mughal%20emperor%20Babur.%20Singh%20and%20Pandey%20were%20accused%20of%20decamping%20with%20the%20plaque%2C%20which%20could%20not%20be%20traced%20at%20all%2C%20though%20speculation%20was%20rife%20that%20Pandey%20took%20it%20all%20the%20way%20to%20Mumbai%20to%20present%20it%20as%20a%20souvenir%20to%20the%20Shiv%20Sena%20founder%20%u2013%20supremo%20Bal%20Thakeray.
The%20cases%2C%20being%20earlier%20dealt%20separately%20by%20two%20independent%20%26nbsp%3Bcourts%20%u2013%20one%20in%20Rae%20Bareli%20and%20the%20other%20in%20Lucknow%20%u2013%20were%20also%20clubbed%2C%20Subsequently%2C%20the%20Lucknow%20court%20was%20designated%20as%20the%20combined%20trial%20court%2C%20where%20%26nbsp%3Bthe%20proceedings%20entered%20into%20the%20final%20phase%20on%20May%2030%2C%202017.
If%20the%20Supreme%20Court%20had%20not%20taken%20that%20initiative%20%2C%20perhaps%20the%20case%20would%20have%20carried%20on%20for%20a%20couple%20of%20years%20more.%20It%20may%20be%20pertinent%20to%20mention%20here%20that%20until%202017%2C%20the%20court%20had%20not%20been%20able%20to%20examine%20more%20than%20253%20of%20the%201025%20witnesses%20originally%20identified%20by%20CBI%20.
Subsequently%2C%20CBI%20brought%20down%20its%20list%20of%20key%20witnesses%20to%20350%2C%20which%20enabled%20the%20courts%20to%20complete%20their%20examination%20between%202017%20and%20August%202020%2C%20when%20the%20court%20concluded%20its%20proceedings.
Yet%2C%20there%20can%20be%20no%20denying%20that%20if%20the%20nearly%20three%20-%20decade%20long%20legal%20journey%20of%20the%20case%20could%20have%20been%20shortened%2C%20justice%20would%20not%20have%20been%20delayed%20%u2013%20and%20therefore%20also%20not%20denied.
The%20common%20perception%20about%20cases%20based%20on%20criminal%20conspiracy%20is%20that%20more%20often%20than%20not%2C%20the%20charge%20becomes%20difficult%20to%20prove%20before%20a%20court%20of%20law.%20While%20CBI%20claims%20to%20have%20done%20a%20thorough%20job%20of%20a%20prosecutor%20%u2013%20despite%20the%20odds%20on%20account%20of%20the%20accused%20belonging%20to%20the%20political%20party%20in%20power%20-%20much%20also%20depends%20on%20how%20well%20the%20defence%20has%20put%20up%20its%20counter%20arguments.
As%20one%20of%20the%20key%20witnesses%20in%20this%20case%2C%20I%20experienced%20first%20hand%20how%20the%20proceedings%20moved%20at%20a%20snail%u2019s%20pace%20for%20more%20than%20two%20decades.%20Even%20my%20lone%20deposition%20went%20on%20for%2010%20days%20before%20the%20Rae%20Bareli%20court%20and%20four%20days%20before%20the%20Lucknow%20court.%20And%20less%20said%20the%20better%20about%20the%20physical%20condition%20court%20rooms%2C%20specially%20in%20Rae%20Bareli%20%u2013%20dusty%20rooms%20with%20dim%20lights%20and%20poor%20ventilation.%20Until%20the%20Supreme%20Court%20stepped%20in%2C%20judges%20too%20were%20changed%20%26nbsp%3Bfrequently.%20Fortunately%20%2C%20the%20present%20judge%20SK%20Yadav%u2019s%20continuity%20has%20been%20maintained%20since%202015%20%u2013%20and%20that%20is%20seen%20as%20one%20good%20reason%20to%20expect%20better%20quality%20of%20justice%20at%20long%20last.
%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23BabriMasjid%22%20data-user-id%3D%22uTypxMUT133Y%22%20href%3D%22/topic/babri-masjid%22%3E%23BabriMasjid%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23Ayodhya%22%20data-user-id%3D%22NWBmyg0fd2YY%22%20href%3D%22/topic/ayodhya%22%3E%23Ayodhya%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23RamTemple%22%20data-user-id%3D%22ZD1r6TuMBbyQ%22%20href%3D%22/topic/ram-temple%22%3E%23RamTemple%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23LKAdvani%22%20data-user-id%3D%225vE4Myw8Do8N%22%20href%3D%22/topic/lkadvani%22%3E%23LKAdvani%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23BJP%22%20data-user-id%3D%22cqfihWqpWO59%22%20href%3D%22/topic/bjp%22%3E%23BJP%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23SupremeCourt%22%20data-user-id%3D%22TSwGQOu4UorZ%22%20href%3D%22/topic/supreme-court%22%3E%23SupremeCourt%3C/a%3E
