Babri Masjid demolition trial: Questioning of all 32 accused to commence from June 4

NEW DELHI: In a significant development, the questioning of all the accused allegedly involved in the Babri Masjid demolition trial will commence from June 4. The special CBI Court in Lucknow conducting the trial has fixed June 4 for questioning of all the 32 accused.

The Court has asked all the 32 accused, involving top BJP leaders, to appear in person on June 4. Top BJP leaders including LK Advani, Murali Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti, as well as VHP leader Champat Rai Bansal are among the accused in the case.

This means that the questioning of accused under Section 313 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) will finally begin on June 4. The accused will be permitted to be questioned via video conferencing if they fail to appear in person on account of health and other reasons, said people with direct knowledge of the matter.


The special CBI court is located in the Kaiserbagh locality of Lucknow, which is a Covid-19 hotspot, as per available information.

Even a fortnight after the special CBI Judge S K Yadav directed the UP authorities, followed by reminders, to install the necessary equipment to conduct day-to-day trial in the case over video link, the same has not yet been installed. Another reminder has been sent to the administration, added people quoted above.

On May 14, while directing the UP chief secretaries for administration and justice to install the equipment, the court had mentioned that it would be inconvenient for the court to use an existing videoconferencing room available in the adjoining court complex. The special CBI judge, SK Yadav, had said that facility was being utilised by other lower courts for summoning accused on remand via videoconferencing and for other judicial purposes.

The case is now slated to come up on June 4.

The Supreme Court on May 8 ordered that the trial be concluded and verdict pronounced by August 31, and the special CBI court doesn’t want to fall in contempt of the directions.