Babri demolition: a look at SC role and CBI probe

With the Supreme Court setting August 31 as the deadline and later extending it by a month for the CBI court to give its verdict in Babri demolition, the trial court started day-to-day hearing to complete the task in time. The central agency produced 351 witnesses and 600 documents as evidence before the court. Charges were framed against 48 people, but 17 have died during the course of trial. The trial under the serious criminal conspiracy charges commenced against the accused after having been dropped by the trial court in 2001. The verdict was upheld by the Allahabad High Court in 2010, but the apex court ordered restoration of the conspiracy charge against them on April 19, 2017. The top court ordered daily hearing in the high-profile case and directed the special judge to conclude it in two years. Before the 2017 verdict of the apex court, two sets of cases were being heard in Lucknow and Raebareli.