In what came as a major jolt to senior BJP leaders L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, present NDA minister Uma Bharti and others, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said that the senior BJP leaders will be tried for conspiring to bring down Babri Masjid in Ayodhya 25 years ago while allowing CBI's plea. (READ HERE)
Dec 1949: An idol of Lord Ram was placed inside Babri Masjid, after which police lodged an FIR and the city magistrate seizes and locks the property
Jan 1950: Gopal Singh Visharad files a civil suit in the Faizabad court demanding to unlock the Babri Masjid premises and start regular prayers.
Ramchandra Das Paramahans, the Mahant of Digambar Akhara and Nirmohi Akhara later approaches the court with the same demand
Feb 1961: Uttar Pradesh’s Sunni Central Waqf Board challenges the three suits filed by the Hindus, declaring Babri Masjid as its property. Hashim Ansari and five others join the case through separate pleas
Feb 1986: Faizabad District Judge Hari Shankar Pandey orders unlocking the Babri Mosque in favour of Hindu parties, and allows worship
The Babri Masjid Action Committee is formed in the same year.
1989: All cases related with Babri Masjid-Ramjanma-bhoomi title suit are transferred to the high court. Triloki Nath Pandey also becomes a party by claiming to be Ram Lalla’s ‘best friend’
Dec 6, 1992: Babri Mosque is demolished
Dec 12, 1992: The Narsimha Rao government sets up the Liberhan Commission to investigate the case
1993: The Liberhan Commission begins its probe
CBI takes over and files a chargesheet against LK Advani and 19 others.
May 2001: The special court drops criminal conspiracy charges against L K Advani and MM Joshi
Feb 2002: Tension in Ayodhya with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) adamant on Shila Pujan to construct the Ram temple
April 2002: A three-judge bench of the court begins Ayodhya title suit hearing
2003: In a survey requested by the High Court, the ASI finds evidence of a temple under the mosque. Muslim groups dispute the findings
Sept 2003: The CBI court rules that seven Sangh Pariwar leaders should stand trial for inciting the Babri Masjid demolition. LK Advani, by now the deputy Prime Minster, however, is spared
June 2009: The Liberhan Commission submits its report, holding 68 people guilty for the demolition
Sept 30, 2010: The three-judge bench in its historic judgment divides the disputed land in three parts—two parts to the Hindu side and one to the Muslim side
2011: All three sides—Nirmohi Akhara, Ram Lalla Virajman and Sunni Waqf Board—appeal against the verdict in the Supreme Court
May 2011: The Supreme Court stays the High Court verdict and orders status quo at the disputed site
Feb 2016: BJP leader Subramanian Swamy appeals to the Supreme Court for an urgent hearing to decide the title suit
Mar 21, 2017: Hearing Swamy’s petition, the three-judge bench says the parties involved should try and reach an amicable settlement out of court.
The Supreme Court is ready to mediate, says the Chief Justice of India
April 19, 2017: Supreme Court asks the CBI court to revive conspiracy charges against the accused named in FIR 198/92 and shifts their case from the Rae Bareli court to Lucknow, clubbing it with the case against accused Karsewaks, who were booked for the actual demolition of Babri Masjid
Supreme Court asks the CBI court to commence a day-to-day hearing in trial within a month of the order and wind up the case by 2019, delivering the verdict.
March 20, 2017: Special CBI court Lucknow summons six accused including RV Vedanti, BL Sharma, Champat Rai Bansal, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, Mahant Dharam Das and Dr Satish Pradhan
All the accused except Pradhan appear in court and are granted bail, with the next date of hearing on May 25, 2017
May 24, 2017: Satish Pradhan appears in the CBI court Lucknow and gets bail
May 25, 2017: Six accused, including Vedanti and five others, fail to appear in court for framing of charges, and are asked by the CBI court to appear on May 30 beyond which no exemption will be allowed
May 26: The Special CBI court summons six BJP leaders including LK Advani, MM Joshi, Uma Bharti, Vinay Katiyar, Sadhvi Ritambhara and Vishnu Hari Dalmia, accused in the case (FIR 198/92) to appear before it for framing of charges.
All the six fail to appear and are directed to be present on May 30, 2017
May 30, 2017: All 12 accused named in the FIR no 198/92 for inciting the mob and conspiring demolition of Babri Mosque to appear in the Special CBI court in Lucknow Court frames addition charges of conspiracy under Section 120 B of IPC against them.