Babri demolition case: AIMPLB moves SC against acquittal of accused

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board will move the Supreme Court against a Central Bureau of Investigation special court acquittal of all the 32 accused in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case, an official of the board said on Wednesday.

The CBI court had on September 30, 2020 acquitted the accused including former deputy prime minister L K Advani in the case after which two Ayodhya residents -- Haji Mahboob and Syed Akhlaq -- moved a revision petition before the Allahabad High Court.

A two-judge bench of High Court rejected the revision petition on November 9 this year, saying the appellants had no locus to challenge the judgment as they were not victims of the case.

AIMPLB executive member and spokesperson Syed Qasil Rasool Ilyas said the board has now decided to move the Supreme Court against the acquittal.

"We are certainly going to approach the Supreme Court as the apex court in the Ayodhya Verdict itself has accepted that the demolition of Babri Masjid was a criminal act," he told PTI.

"The five-judge Supreme Court bench that delivered the historic Ayodhya verdict had termed the Babri Masjid destruction a serious violation of the rule of law and the accused are still out of the reach of Law," he added.

He said appellants Haji Mahboob and Syed Akhlaq were CBI witnesses and their houses were attacked and burnt on December 6, 1992 by a mob that was gathered by the accused.

He said Mahboob and Akhlaq lived in the close vicinity of Babri Masjid.

Mahboob and Akhlaq had moved the High Court on January 8, 2021 against the CBI Court judgement.

While rejecting the petition, the High Court said in its order, "In view of the foregoing discussion, this Court is of the opinion that the instant criminal appeal filed on behalf of the appellants under Section 372 Cr.P.C., under the facts and circumstances of the case, is liable to be dismissed on the ground of non-availability of the locus of the appellants to challenge the impugned judgment and order dated Sep, 30, 2020 passed by the trial Court, hence the same is, accordingly, dismissed."