A special judge holding trial in the Babri Masjid demolition case, involving Bharatiya Janata Party veterans L K Advani, M M Joshi and others, on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking six more months to conclude the trial in the case.
The 15th anniversary of the demolition of Babri Masjid cast its shadow on Parliament on Thursday with both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha disrupted throughout the day.
In a respite to L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and 19 others in the Babri Masjid demolition case, the Allahabad High Court on Thuursday dismissed the Central Bureau for Investigation's revision petition challenging a special court decision to drop criminal proceedings against them.
Seventeen years after it was set up, the Liberhan Commission, looking into the Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya, submitted its report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday.
Uneasy calm prevailed in Ayodhya, which on Saturday looked like a fortress, with deployment of more than 10,000 cops on the 22nd anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Mosque.
Indian authorities have uncovered a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror plot involving doctors from south Kashmir, a Faridabad university, the recovery of 2,900 kg of explosives, and a car bomb near the Red Fort. Eight people have been arrested in connection with the plot.
Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of raking up the Ayodhya issue in a bid to gain political mileage, the Samajwadi Party on Wednesday claimed that it had never given a clean chit to former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh on the Babri Masjid demolition issue and blamed the Congress for being 'equally responsible' for it."The SP never gave a clean chit to Kalyan on the Babri Mosque demolition. But the fact is that the Congress is equally responsible," said Amar.
All 32 accused in the 28-year-old Babri demolition case, including BJP's founder-members LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, have been acquitted by a special CBI court in Lucknow.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday criticised visiting Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik's controversial statement equating the Babri Masjid demolition with the 26/11 terror attacks, and termed it as very "unfortunate" and "provocative".
Anupam Gupta, counsel for Liberhan Commission from 1999 to 2007, said Vajpayee cannot be indicted because he was neither given notice or summoned.
Justice Shailendra Saxena posted the petition, which also impleads the Union of India, the Central Bureau of Investigation and Uttar Pradesh as opposite parties, for hearing on Wednesday.
On the eve of Babri mosque demolition anniversary, Uttar Pradesh government on Friday enhanced the security of Hashim Ansari, the oldest litigant in the case, by providing him a Y category security cover.
As the Ayodhya title suit verdict date nears, the News Broadcasters Association has set guidelines for electronic media asking them not to speculate about the judgement and not to show the footage of 1992 Babri Masjid demolition.
The Supreme Court has adjourned by six weeks hearing of the batch of petitions challenging the separation of trials of senior BJP and Sangh Parivar leaders for their alleged involvement in the Babri Masjid demolition case.
The high court order came on a petition filed by Haji Mehboob and Haji Mohammed Siddique challenging the trial court order discharging Advani.\n
Meanwhile, an opposition sponsored motion for discussion on the dropping of conspiracy charges by the Central Bureau of Investigation was rejected in the Rajya Sabha after an hour-long argument on its admissibility.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday dubbed the Liberhan Commission report, probing the Babri Masjid demolition, as devoid of any credibility and said the 'leakage' of the report was as dubious as its content.
It has sought permission to begin prosecution proceedings against Deputy Prime Minister Advani, Union minister M M Joshi and 19 others.
The accused include former deputy prime minister Advani, former Union ministers Joshi and Uma Bharti, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh, besides Vinay Katiyar and Sadhvi Rithambara.
The special court hearing the demolition case fixed May 31 for the next hearing.
Deputy Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj tore apart the Justice Liberhan Commission report, probing the Babri Masjid demolition, on Tuesday and asked the government to reject it.
Terming demolition of Babri Masjid as an act of religious fanaticism and extreme prejudice, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said communalism in all its forms was deplorable and asserted that it was the duty of the majority community to protect the minorities.
Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned today, following the Opposition's clamour over a report claiming that the Prime Minister's Office PMO had asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to explain why no action was taken against L K Advani
The Congress has alleged that a CD recently presented to the Liberhan Commission 'established beyond doubt' that the former prime minister had 'full knowledge' of the Dec 6, 1992 incident.
CBI counsel S S Gandhi, however, said the CBI had, 'oral evidence' against all the eight accused persons, including Advani, M M Joshi and Uma Bharti.
Even as the 19th anniversary of the demolition of Babri Mosque in Ayodhya on Tuesday remained a non-event, what came as a pleasant surprise was the message of peace and communal amity from none other than Babri Masjid Action Committee.
The Allahabad high court on Thursday directed recording of evidence on a day-to-day basis by the Rae Bareli trial court in the Babri Masjid demolition case, rejecting a plea by a Vishwa Hindu Party leader.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned the Central Bureau of Investigation for the delay in filing appeal against the Allahabad high court order that conspiracy charge will not apply to BJP leader L K Advani and others in the Babri Masjid demolition case.
The CBI has challenged the 2001 order of a Special CBI court dropping proceedings against the duo in the Babri Masjid demolition case on technical grounds.
No member of the Congress' first family has visited Ayodhya since the demolition of the Babri Masjid 24 years ago, in December 1992.
On the twentieth anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya by a mob of enraged kar sevaks, it might appear that the dispute about the birthplace of Rama is a thing of the past.
Senior advocate Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for Uttar Pradesh, told the bench that they have complied with the top court's direction and extended the tenure of the special judge till he delivers the judgment in the Ayodhya demolition case.
Owaisi said the CBI should appeal against the judgment "to protect its independence."
With the 30th anniversary of the demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya and 65th death anniversary of Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar falling on December 6, the Mumbai police as a precautionary measure has announced prohibitory orders in Mumbai as part of its standard procedure from December 2 till January 2, 2023.
Union minister Beni Prasad Verma on Monday accused Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav of conniving with Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani in the run-up to the demolition of Babri Masjid, while debunking a debate on whether he or Narendra Modi would be a better prime ministerial choice.
After talking about "moral" responsibility on Wednesday, former Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kalyan Singh on Thursday said he owned 'total' responsibility for the demolition of the Babri Masjid when he was the chief minister in 1992 in remarks seen as helping his new ally Samajwadi Party from attacks from Muslims on the issue.
Patil revealed that CM Shinde called him on Tuesday morning after his remarks caused a row and asked him to clarify.