New Delhi: Lucknow: Senior BJP leaders LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi and Union minister Uma Bharti have been charged with criminal conspiracy in the Babri Masjid demolition case. A special CBI court ordered framing of charges under IPC section 120B (Punishment of criminal conspiracy) read with 153 (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 153A, 295 (Injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class), 295A and 505 (Statements conducing to public mischief).
Here's a look at the how the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi controversy has panned out:
1885: Mahant Raghubir Das is refused permission to build a temple on the outer courtyard of the Babri Masjid
The legal battle over the disputed Babri Masjid structure goes on for over a century.
1949: Idols of Ram Lalla are placed surreptitiously under the central dome of the Babri Masjid
1950-61: Four separate suits are filed to either perform puja of Ram Lalla (infant Ram) or hand over charge of the disputed site
1986: Site opens for Hindu worshippers after Faizabad district judge orders removal of locks
1989: The four suits pending are transferred to the Allahabad HC
1991: UP govt acquires land around the structure for convenience of devotees who attend Ram Lalla darshan
December 1992: Babri Masjid is demolished by a frenzied mob of karsevaks
Two FIRs are filed in the Babri Masjid demolition case.
Crime no. 197: Actual “demolition of the mosque by karsevaks”
Crime no. 198: Thirteen BJP leaders, including LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and Vinay Katiyar, are named for delivering ‘communal’ speeches before the demolition
1993: Govt takes over 67 acres of land around the area, seeks SC opinion on whether there existed a Hindu place of worship before the Babri Masjid was built
October 1993: CBI files a composite chargesheet and accuses Advani and other BJP leaders of ‘conspiracy’
1994: Case is sent back to Lucknow Bench of Allahabad HC, suits heard again from 1996
May 4, 2001: Special Judge SK Shukla drops conspiracy charge against 13 accused, including Advani and Kalyan Singh
Justice Shukla separates crimes 197 and 198
May 20, 2010: Advani and the others are absolved of conspiracy charges as Allahabad HC upholds May 4, 2001 special court order
September 30, 2010: Allahabad HC awards two-thirds of Ayodhya site to Hindu parties and one-third to Waqf Board
February, 2011: CBI moves SC, arguing the demolition bid was “a concerted conspiracy”
May 9, 2011: SC stays Allahabad HC verdict on Ayodhya dispute
December 25, 2014: Mohammad Farooq, oldest litigant in the case, dies. Farooq, a resident of Ayodhya, was one of the seven main Muslim litigants in the 1949 Babri Masjid case
March 6, 2017: SC indicates it may revive conspiracy charge and order a joint trial of crimes 197 and 198
March 22, 2017: SC is willing to appoint a principal negotiator if the parties want
April 6, 2017: CBI urges SC to revive the Babri Masjid demolition case against 13 BJP leaders, including LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti, Vinay Katiyar
April 20: Supreme Court orders prosecution of Advani (89), Joshi (83) and 58-year-old Bharti. It also orders day-to-day trial to be concluded in two years.
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