Babri demolition: Court expresses displeasure over non-appearance of accused

A special CBI court hearing the Babri demolition case in Lucknow expressed displeasure over the non-appearance of the accused on Wednesday. 

Seventeen out of the 32 accused are still to depose before the court, which court is conducting day-to-day proceedings in order to conclude the trial by August 31, as directed by the Supreme Court. 

On Wednesday, no accused was present in the court and exemption applications were filed by their lawyers. 

Taking into account all circumstances, Special Judge S K Yadav directed Pawan Kumar Pandey to appear before it on June 26 and warned him that his exemption plea will not be accepted on the said date.  

Considering the age of accused Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, the court directed the National Informatics Centre to depute a person at his residence to ensure a video link for the recording of his statement. 

Meanwhile, it was submitted on behalf of accused Jai Bhagwan Goel and Amar Nath Goel that they will appear before the court on June 25. The two had earlier preferred to depose through video conferencing.

The statements are being recorded by the special court here under section 313 of the CrPC, a stage in the trial that follows the examination of prosecution witnesses. 

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.