Uma Bharti appears before CBI court in Babri case

Lucknow: Former union minister and senior BJP leader, Uma Bharti, on Thursday, appeared before a special CBI court here to record her statement in Babri mosque demolition case.

The special CBI court is currently recording the statements of 32 accused under CrPC section 313 (court's power to examine the accused), a stage in the trial that follows the examination of prosecution witnesses.

Uma Bharti, 61, is the 19th accused to depose before the court in over 27-year-old case.

Thirteen other accused, including former deputy prime minister L.K. Advani and senior BJP leaders, Dr M.M. Joshi and Kalyan Singh are yet to be examined by the court.

Their lawyers have informed the CBI court that they would prefer to appear through video conferencing, in view of the Corona pandemic. The court has already directed the government to ensure facility for video conferencing.

The CBI court is conducting day-to-day hearings to complete the trial by August 31, as directed by the Supreme Court.

Babri mosque in Ayodhya was demolished on December 6, 1992 by 'kar sevaks' who claimed that an ancient Ram temple had stood on the same site.