NEW DELHI, Nov 2: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to extend the security of former CBI Special Judge Surendra Kumar Yadav, whose last act was delivering the Babri Masjid verdict acquitting all the 32 accused in its demolition case on September 30, the day he finally retired.
Babri case acquittal was the last order passed by Yadav – he had retired last year but had been on extension on the direction of the Supreme Court.
While reviewing the judge’s request to continue his security cover, given the sensitivity of the case, a bench, headed by Justice R F Nariman and comprising Justices Navin Sinha and Krishna Murari, said, “Having perused the letter, we don’t consider it appropriate to provide security.”
The CBI special judge in his 2,300-page order had rejected evidence from photos, videos, and speeches of the accused, raised questions on the conclusions drawn by the prosecution, and referred to the possible involvement of Pakistani intelligence agencies and anti-social elements and terrorists disguised as kar sevaks who had entered the Babri site.
The order said there was no evidence that the accused had met “inside a room” to plan the razing of the mosque.
Also, the judge ruled that videos of the demolition were not sent for forensic examination, and negatives of the pictures taken on that day were not produced – they could not, therefore, be relied upon as evidence.
Among those acquitted of conspiracy charges for demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992, were the leaders of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement including former Union ministers L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, and Uma Bharti, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Kalyan Singh, and former BJP Member of Parliament Vinay Katiyar.
The CBI court order came less than a year after a five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision gave the disputed land in Ayodhya to a trust for the building of a Ram temple while declaring razing of the Babri Masjid “illegal.”
(Manas Dasgupta)