New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to further extend the security of retired CBI Special Judge Surendra Kumar Yadav, who had acquitted all 32 accused in the 1992 Babri Mosque demolition case.
Reviewing his request to continue the security cover, a Bench comprising Justices Rohinton Fali Nariman, Navin Sinha nd Krishna Murari said: “Having perused the letter, we don't consider it apropriate to provide security.”
On September 30 in a 2,300-page order, Yadav had rejected evidence from photos, videos, and speeches of the accused, raised questions on the conclusions drawn by the prosecution. Also, he also 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. “All evidence present in documents was analysed. The crime against the accused could not be established,” Yadav said in his order, written in Hindi.
Among those acquitted of conspiracy charges included former deputy prime minister LK Advani, union ministers Murli Manohar Joshi, and Uma Bharti and former UP CM Kalyan Singh. This was the last order passed by Yadav – he had retired last year, and had been on extension on the direction of the Supreme Court.
The 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 building a Ram temple. The Supreme Court had called the razing of the Babri Masjid illegal.
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