In the wake of the Liberhan commision's report being tabled in Parliament, Sharat Pradhan recounts the day the Babri Masjid was felled.
The special court is hearing the 1992 demolition cases, including the one against BJP leaders L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti.
Remnants of demolished Hindu temples were used to build the Babri Masjid, Justice Dharam Veer Sharma of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has held and cited evidence provided by the Archeological Survey of India to support the findings.
'Gandhi had given the call 'Do or Die'. And with all the leaders arrested, you had to be your own leader.'
Yet another book has levelled an allegation that P V Narasimha Rao had connived at the demolition of Babri Masjid claiming that the late prime minister had sat in a puja when the kar sevaks began pulling it down and rose only when it was over.
A bench comprising Justices P C Ghose and R F Nariman asked all the parties in the case to file their written arguments by April 6 and posted the matter for further hearing on April 7.
The hearing in the Babri masjid demolition case was on Tuesday deferred as the notification for nomination of a judge is still to be issued by the Allahabad high court. "The matter was not taken up today as a notification regarding nomination of magistrate is yet to be issued by the high court," prosecution sources said
Justice Liberhan took 17 years, 1,029 pages and 48 extensions at a cost of Rs 8 crore -- and added an 18-page postscript and blamed his own counsel to explain the delay in handing out news that everyone has known or suspected all along.Many of the politicians and officials who testified before the Liberhan Commission in more than a decade-and-a-half have retired, some have passed on, the country's political map has been dramatically redrawn.
Eighteen years after the Babri Masjid was demolished in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992, the judgment about the disputed land has finally been pronounced. But the case against the accused in the mosque demolition is still going on in the Central Bureau of Investigation's special court.The case has now been deferred to October 5 since a notification appointing a new judge for the CBI special court is yet to be issued. The court is likely to resume hearing in the second week of Oct
'In Independent India's politics you will not find any leader of a political party who has not contested elections or not held a powerful post.' 'It was only Balasaheb who never contested elections or held a post.' On the occasion of Balasaheb Thackeray's 99th birth anniversary, close aide Subhash Desai recalls vignettes about the Shiv Sena founder.
The 1993 Mumbai bombings were a series of 12 coordinated explosions across the city on March 12, 1993, killing 257 people and injuring hundreds.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manohar Joshi on Thursday lashed out at the Central Bureau of Investigation after the Supreme Court asked it to explain the delay in filing an appeal against the Allahabad High Court's order for dropping the conspiracy charges in the Babri Masjid demolition case.
Singh, who was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh when the 16th-century structure was razed on December 6 in 1992, was first taken in judicial custody by the court after he appeared before it in response to the summons in the demolition case.
"It is surprising that even after going through with the completion of recording of evidence of witnesses and arguments, the commission has failed to submit its findings. So much so that Mumbai High Court had to comment adversely regarding the functioning and delay in the completion of inquiry by the commission. "Consequently, there is genuine feeling among the vast sections of the society, especially among Muslims," the resolution noted.
The following is the chronology of events related to the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute in which, after the Supreme Court verdict, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday conducted the 'Bhoomi Pujan' or ground breaking ceremony and laid the foundation stone for the temple's construction.
The defence counsel pleaded that CBI was only an investigating agency and had no right to prosecute.
The Babri Masjid demolition is just an incident and there is nothing famous or infamous about it, the Supreme Court on Monday said while listing Central Bureau of Investigation's plea for levelling charges of criminal conspiracy against senior Bhartatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani, Shiv Sena Chief Bal Thackeray and 18 others to March 27.
A generation has passed and the demolition appears to be a story of a era gone by, says Rediff.com's Sharat Pradhan, who shares his experience as a witness in court in the Babri Masjid demolition case.
Bhartiya Janshakti Party President Uma Bharti in Bhopal on Tuesday said she is ready to own responsibility for the demolition of the disputed Babri mosque at Ayodhya and has no problem even if she is hanged on the issue.
These images of deities on pillars of the structure are not found in mosques and found in temples, the counsel for the deity told SC.
The EC notice stated that it was a violation of chapter 4 of the model code of conduct, which pertains to maintenance of harmony between castes, communities, religious, linguistic groups.
Asserting that he prays regularly, the CJI said, "Believe me, if you have faith, God will always find a way."
A bench headed by Justice P C Ghose said the appropriate bench comprising him and Justice R F Nariman will be hearing the matter on Thursday. Justice Nariman was not present in the court on Wednesday.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has too decided against observing the 27th anniversary of the demolition as "Shaurya Diwas".
'Prince' Yakub Habeebuddin Tucy likes to introduce himself as a great-great grandson of Bahadur Shah Zafar.
The Supreme Court of India has extended its stay on a court-monitored survey of the Shahi Idgah Mosque complex in Mathura, which is located adjacent to the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple. The court deferred the hearing on a plea against the survey to April 1, while the interim order staying the survey will continue to operate. The Hindu side claims that the mosque complex holds signs of a temple that once existed at the site, while the Muslim side contends that the lawsuits filed by the Hindu litigants violate the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act of 1991.
The Samajwadi Party announced on Saturday that it would walk out of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi after Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray's close aide hailed the demolition of Babri mosque and a related newspaper advertisement.
Can ordinary citizens counter this backward march? Can peace activists ensure that the two communities retain their bonds? Do they have a choice, asks Jyoti Punwani.
'The appearance of idols of deities inside Babri was not a miracle. It was a planned and surreptitious attack to put them on the intervening night of December 22-23, 1949'
The law prohibits conversion of any place of worship and provides for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947.
The Supreme Court of India is scheduled to hear a batch of petitions challenging the validity of certain provisions of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which prohibits lawsuits to reclaim a place of worship or change its character from what prevailed on August 15, 1947. The pleas, including one filed by Ashwini Upadhyay, argue that these provisions violate the right to judicial remedy and create an arbitrary cut-off date. The matter will be heard in the backdrop of several ongoing cases related to places of worship, including the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi and the Shahi Idgah Mosque in Mathura. The Muslim side has cited the 1991 law to argue that such suits are not maintainable. The Supreme Court had previously sought the Centre's response to Upadhyay's petition, which alleged that the law creates an "arbitrary and irrational retrospective cut-off date" for maintaining the character of places of worship.
It will be heard by a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.
Congress MP Mohammad Jawed and AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi have challenged the validity of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 in the Supreme Court, arguing that it violates constitutional provisions. The petitions claim the bill imposes arbitrary restrictions on Waqf properties and their management, undermining the religious autonomy of the Muslim community. They also allege that the bill discriminates against Muslims by imposing restrictions not present in the governance of other religious endowments. The bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, with the petitioners arguing that it introduces limitations on the creation of Waqfs based on the duration of one's religious practice, mandates inclusion of non-Muslim members in Waqf administrative bodies, and shifts key administrative functions to government officials, thereby diluting the autonomy of Waqf management.
'Rather than assuaging the feelings of the Hindus accommodated in schools and hospitals, she calls a meeting of imams and tries to assuage them.'
Das served as the head priest since he was 20 years old, including during the demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992.
He hinted that the same hue and cry is not made about 1984 riots not being in textbooks.
Nazir Ahmed Wani, the main accused in the 1993 Deoband bomb blasts, has been arrested in Srinagar after evading capture for 31 years. Wani, wanted for his involvement in the bomb attacks, was arrested by a joint operation of the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and local police. The blasts occurred during communal violence in Deoband following the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992.
The Act prohibits conversion of any place of worship and provides for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947.
The Mathura Shahi Masjid Eidgah Committee has approached the Supreme Court, requesting the court to prevent the central government from filing a response to a petition challenging the Places of Worship Act's constitutional validity. The committee accuses the BJP-led government of intentionally delaying its response. The court had previously issued a notice to the government in March 2021, but the government has yet to submit its reply despite numerous opportunities. The committee argues that the government's delay is intended to obstruct those opposing the challenge to the Places of Worship Act from filing their own responses. The petition also states that the pleas challenging the law's validity are scheduled for hearing on February 17, and closing the government's right to respond would serve justice. The Supreme Court previously issued a ruling in December 2022 that stopped courts from entertaining new lawsuits or issuing interim or final orders regarding the reclaiming of religious places, particularly mosques and dargahs. The ruling halted proceedings in 18 lawsuits filed by Hindu groups seeking surveys to confirm the original religious character of 10 mosques, including the Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi, the Shahi Idgah Masjid in Mathura, and the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal. This decision was made in response to six petitions, including one filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay, challenging various provisions of the Places of Worship Act. The 1991 law prohibits the conversion of places of worship and guarantees the preservation of their existing religious character as it stood on August 15, 1947. Notably, the dispute regarding the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was excluded from this law. There are also several cross-petitions advocating for a strict enforcement of the 1991 law to uphold communal harmony and maintain the current status of mosques that Hindu groups seek to reclaim, claiming they were temples before being destroyed by invaders.
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