Babri Masjid Demolition Case: Plea in Allahabad HC against acquittal of accused

Lucknow: Two Ayodhya residents filed a petition on Friday in the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court, against the acquittal of all accused in the Babri mosque demolition by the Special CBI court.

Haji Mahboob,70 and Haji Sayyad Akhlaq Ahmad, 80 filed the petition on behalf of All India Muslim Personal Law Board.

The petition has been filed exactly 100 days after special CBI court had acquitted all 32 accused. The two decided to challenge the special court's judgement after the CBI did not move the high court against the acquittal of the accused by the special court, said a counsel for the petitioners.

Twenty-eight years after the Babri Masjid was razed, the special court last year had acquitted all 32 people including BJP veterans L K Advani, M M Joshi and Uma Bharti, accused of inciting a mob of "kar sevaks" to demolish the Babri mosque.

In a judgment that ran to 2,300 pages, the special CBI court said there was no conclusive evidence against the 32 accused of being involved in any conspiracy to bring down the disputed structure in Ayodhya.

Both the petitioners had earlier deposed during the trial at the Lucknow court. Both their houses, which were in close proximity to the mosque, were torched by a mob on December 6, 1992.

(With inputs from agencies)