India: No one felled it? The Babri Masjid demolition was a criminal act. But CBI fails to prove a conspiracy | editorial The Times of India, Oct 1, 2020

No one felled it? The Babri Masjid demolition was a criminal act. But CBI fails to prove a conspiracy October 1, 2020, 2:15 am IST TOI Edit in TOI Editorials Twenty-eight years is a long time but in India that is how long it can take the wheels of justice to turn. In keeping with its many failures in high profile cases, CBI’s prosecution of a criminal conspiracy in the Babri Masjid demolition fell flat. The trial court found no evidence of conspiracy while acquitting LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and other leaders of the Ram Mandir agitation. The court concluded that accused persons like Ashok Gehlot actually tried to stop the “anti-social elements” who brought down the mosque. The Justice Liberhan Commission report had rejected the claim of a spontaneous riot. Despite CBI filing its first chargesheet in 1993 and a supplementary chargesheet in 1996, the case drifted for two decades between trial courts, Allahabad high court and Supreme Court. In 2017, an SC bench led by Justice Rohington Nariman revived the criminal conspiracy charges and kept making decisive interventions to prevent further delays. SC must review unacceptably long procedural delays that plague important cases in the trial stage. Justice delayed is justice denied. The judicial process is still not over: Appeals before Allahabad HC and later SC could happen. Last year, the five-judge SC bench adjudicating the mandir-masjid title dispute dubbed the Babri Masjid destruction a “serious violation of the rule of law”. India’s track record of prosecuting communal riots is abysmal, which is a key reason they recur with disturbing regularity. Rarely are riot leaders brought to justice. CBI must also examine its failure to prove documentary evidence like audio and video clips it brought to trial. Authorities are fond of saying the law will take its course. Such a lengthy course doesn’t bode well for the rule of law. Failure to uncover the “serious violation” of 1992 will remain a black day for Indian democracy. This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India. Source URL: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-editorials/no-one-felled-it-the-babri-masjid-demolition-was-a-criminal-act-but-cbi-fails-to-prove-a-conspiracy/