Former Union Minister Uma Bharati, one of the senior BJP leaders facing a verdict on September 30 in the Babri Masjid demolition case being heard in a special CBI court has said that she would “prefer to hang than seek bail” in the case, if found guilty.
In an emotional letter written to BJP president JP Nadda, dated September 26, the day he announced his new team of office bearers (dropping her as vice president), she said that her decision not to seek bail if found guilty in the case may make him (Mr. Nadda) exclude her from his team, but that would be the latter’s decision.
I am proud of my participation in the Ayodhya movement and seeking bail would, I believe dilute this participating. Even if I have hang for having participated, it will be acceptable to me. In such circumstances whether or not you would want to keep me in your team is for you to consider,” she wrote.
Bharti is currently admitted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh after testing positive for Covid-19. Her condition is said to be stable. While Bharti will not be present in court for the hearing, it is not yet clear whether she would appear via video conferencing.
Apart from Bharti, BJP veterans LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi are among the accused in the in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case. Other accused include former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh, Vinay Katiyar and Sadhvi Rithambara.
CONCLUSION
The trial under the serious criminal conspiracy charges commenced against them 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.
The conspiracy charge is in addition to the existing charges against them for promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion for which they are already facing trial. The other charges against them include indulging in “deliberate and malicious” acts intended to outrage religious feelings, uttering statements leading to public mischief, rioting and unlawful assembly.
The CBI argued that the accused conspired and instigated ‘kar sevaks’ to demolish the 16th century mosque. But the accused pleaded innocence maintaining that there is no evidence to prove their guilt and claimed they were implicated by the then Congress government at the Centre as a political vendetta.
The Babri Masjid was demolished in December 1992 by “kar sevaks” who claimed that the mosque in Ayodhya was built on the site of an ancient Ram temple.
In a landmark judgment last year, the Supreme Court allotted the disputed site in Ayodhya for construction of a Ram temple, while calling the demolition of the mosque a violation of the rule of law. An alternative five-acre site was marked in the city for building a mosque.
