The Supreme Court on Monday refused to extend the security of former special judge S K Yadav, who had pronounced the verdict in the Babri Masjid demolition case. 

Yadav had acquitted all 32 accused, including BJP veterans L K Advani, M M Joshi and Uma Bharti in the Babri case, and had asked the apex court to extend his security in view of the sensitivity of the case, the verdict for which he gave on his last day in office. 

A bench, headed by Justice R F Nariman and also comprising Justices Navin Sinha and Krishna Murari hearing his request said, “Having perused the letter, we don’t consider it appropriate to provide security.”

A special court in Lucknow on September 30 had acquitted all accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case saying there was no conclusive evidence that they were part of any conspiracy to bring down the disputed structure in Ayodhya.

Babri Masjid, built in 16th century, was demolished on December 6, 1992 by ‘kar sevaks’, who believed that it occupied the site where Lord Ram was born. 

The demolition had triggered riots that left hundreds dead in the country and widening rifts between the communities.

Last year, a five-judge Constitution bench of the apex court had ruled that the 2.77-acre land claimed by both Hindus and Muslims would be handed over to a trust for the building of a temple.

The top court had also ordered the allocation of five-acre land at another site in Ayodhya for building a mosque.