The idols of Ram Lalla and others were present in the ‘garbagriha’ when miscreants started demolishing the disputed structure in Ayodhya and were saved by the priest which showed that the act was not pre-planned, the defence counsel had argued in the Babri mosque case. During the course of the trial, the counsel had submitted that the structure was demolished by miscreants who defied the directions for symbolic ‘karseva’ given from Ramakatha Kunj.
The leaders of the VHP and others had gathered at a podium at Ramakatha Kunj, about 200 metres from the site, from where they addressed the crowd. In fact, late VHP leader Ashok Singhal tried his best to prevent the demolition, but miscreants disobeyed him, the defence lawyer claimed.
The court accepted these submissions made by defence lawyer Vimal Kumar Srivastava in his 400-page written and oral arguments. He had also pleaded that the Ram Lalla idols were not removed from ‘garbagriha’ (sanctum) and these idols were saved by Satyendra Das, the priest of the temple. It showed that the accused had not planned to demolish the structure.
He had also pleaded that no malicious intent was found in any statement of CBI witnesses and that the accused were trying to maintain peace in the area. The lawyer contended that video and audio cassettes were not kept under seal and were not sent to the laboratory. They were tampered with and therefore no reliance can be placed on them.
He also pleaded that the original script of the newspapers produced as evidence by the CBI was not given to the court. It was also argued by him that the symbolic ‘karseva’ was being performed with a positive and religious mindset, but miscreants, as reported by the Local Intelligence Unit (LIU), were active with their sinister design to disturb the symbolic ‘karseva’.
He had stressed that the accused had been falsely implicated due to political reasons by the then Congress government at the Centre. All the 32 accused in the Babri mosque demolition case, including BJP veterans L K Advani and MM Joshi, were on Wednesday acquitted by a special CBI court here which said there was no conclusive proof against them.
Delivering the much-awaited verdict in the 28-year-old case, CBI judge S K Yadav did not accept newspapers and video cassettes as evidence. The court also observed that late Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal wanted to save the structure because Ram idols were inside.
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