Babri demolition case: Advani deposes before special CBI court; faces 100 questions

He was questioned for over four hours

advani-ani (File) Senior BJP leader L.K. Advani | ANI

Veteran BJP leader L.K. Advani on Friday recorded his statement before a special CBI court in the Babri mosque demolition case.

The statement of the 92-year-old former deputy prime minster was recorded through video conferencing in the court of special Judge S.K. Yadav in the presence of his counsel.

According to an NDTV report, the senior BJP leader was grilled for over four hours. The questioning began at 11am and lasted till 3.30pm. As many as 100 questions were posed to him, say media reports.

On Wednesday, Advani had met Home Minister Amit Shah. According to news reports, the home minister was accompanied by a government lawyers as he met the senior BJP leader at the latter's residence.

On Thursday, the court had recorded the statement of another senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi in the case. Dubbing prosecution witnesses in the Babri mosque demolition case as liars, Joshi had asserted that he was innocent and implicated in the case by the then Congress government at the Centre.

He pleaded innocence while making his statement under section 313 of the CrPC.

The Babri mosque demolition trial is presently at the stage of recording of statements of 32 accused in the case under Section 313 of CrPC during which they get an opportunity to refute the prosecution evidence against them.

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

Advani and Joshi were among those leading the Ram temple movement at that time.

The court is conducting day-to-day hearing in the case to complete its trial by August 31 as directed by the Supreme Court.

(With PTI inputs)