www.firstindia.co.in www.firstindia.co.in/epaper/ twitter.com/thefirstindia facebook.com/thefirstindia instagram.com/thefirstindia
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR & AHMEDABAD
25°C - 35°C
AHMEDABAD l THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2020 l Pages 12 l 3.00
N
early 28 years after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, a special CBI court in Lucknow on Wednesday acquitted all the 32 people accused of conspiring to raze the structure among other charges, including BJP veterans LK Advani and MM Joshi, on the grounds of absence of any conclusive evidence against them. The court also observed that late Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal wanted to save the structure because Ram idols were inside. In his 2,300-page verdict, special CBI judge SK Yadav said the CBI could not produce any conclusive evidence against any accused. He, however, directed all the accused to furnish a surety and personal
bond of Rs 50,000 each in the court as a procedural requirement. During the course of the trial, the judge did not accept newspaper reports and video cassettes as evidence. On Wednesday, the judge occupied his chair in the courtroom at 12.10 pm and within five minutes he read out the operative part of the judgment pronouncing acquittal of all the accused. It was his last working day in judicial service. He had already retired on September 30, 2019, but the Supreme Court had extended his service till delivery of the judgment in the case by September 30, 2020. Reading out the verdict in open court, where 26 of the 32 accused were present along with their lawyers, the judge did not accept newspapers as pieces of evidence as their original Turn on P6
CURIOUS CASE OF BABRI DEMOLITION
ADVANI, JOSHI AMONG 32 ACCUSED ACQUITTED!
Last month, Bhoomipujan has been done for the construction of the grand Ram temple in Ayodhya. These people were first opposing the Ram temple in the Supreme Court and then started opposing Bhoomipujan. With every changing date, these people who oppose for protest are becoming irrelevant: PM
The decision of the Special Court to acquit all the accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case is surprising as an earlier Supreme Court verdict held that the demolition was a clear illegality and “egregious violation of the rule of law.”
CBI judge Surendra Kumar Yadav said the demolition of the 500-year old Babri Masjid was not pre-planned and the accused were being acquitted due to lack of evidence
AFTER 28-YR WAIT
PMO India @PMOIndia
Ashok Gehlot @ashokgehlot51
RNI NO. GUJENG/2019/16208 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 306
I wholeheartedly welcome the judgement by the special court in the Babri Masjid demolition case. The judgement vindicates my personal and BJP’s belief and commitment toward the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
I feel this controversy should come to end with the verdict. The entire country should be ready for the construction of a grand Ram temple. I will say only one thing Jai Jai Shri Ram, Sab ko sanmatti de bhagwan. The verdict has proven that our programmes were not under any conspiracy.
—LK Advani, senior BJP leader
—MM Joshi, Senior BJP Leader
RSS WELCOMES VERDICT, CALLS FOR HARMONY Nagpur: RSS on Wednesday welcomed the verdict and called for harmony in society to face challenges before the country. “After this decision, all sections of the society should come together in unity and harmony and work successfully to face the challenges before the country,” RSS gen secy Suresh ‘Bhaiyyaji’ Joshi tweeted.
A VINDICATION OF TRUTH AND JUSTICE: VHP New Delhi: The acquittal “is a vindication of truth and justice”, said VHP, which spearheaded Ram Janmabhoomi movement. VHP international working president Alok Kumar said it took 28 years for courts to deliver justice. “This judgment now hopefully draws the final curtains on an issue that had been agitating the Hindu psyche for some 472 years,” he said.
351 WITNESSES, 600 DOCUMENTS AS EVIDENCE The central agency produced 351 witnesses and 600 documents as evidence before the court. Charges were framed against 49 people, but 17 (including stalwarts like Ashok Singhal, Balasaheb Thackeray, Vijayraje Scindia) have died during the course of the trial.
RELIEF AT LAST! The 32 accused include former deputy PM Advani, former Union ministers MM Joshi Uma Bharti, Champat Rai & former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh during whose tenure the structure was pulled down, besides VHP leaders Vinay Katiyar and Sadhvi Rithambara.
Ahmed Patel @ahmedpatel The Babri verdict is shocking, it goes contrary to principles of natural justice & even the SC’s observation
Multiplexes can open, states to IAS Pre on Oct 4 as SC HATHRAS GANG RAPE decide on schools from Oct 15 reject postponement plea GOVT CONSTITUTES SIT; ANNOUNCES EX-GRATIA
New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday issued new guidelines for ‘re-opening’ of more activities in areas outside the containment zones. Lockdown has been extended and will be in force till 31 October in containment zones. According to the guidelines, cinemas, theatres, multiplexes will be permitted to open with up to 50 per cent of their seating capacity and states can allow gather-
ing of more than 100 people but with conditions. These guidelines are not unlock guidelines but norms for re-opening. In these guidelines, which will come into effect from October 1, 2020,
the process of re-opening of activities has been extended further. The new guidelines, issued on Wednesday, are based on feedback received from States and UTs, and extensive consultations held with related Central Ministries and Departments. It said, “Activities permitted from 15th October 2020, in areas outside the Containment Zones--”Cinemas/ theatres/ multiplexes will be permitted Turn on P6
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to postpone the UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination scheduled for October 4. A Bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar asked the Centre to consider granting one more chance to those aspirants who may not appear in their last attempt for the exam due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bench while refusing to postpone the
exam also declined to consider the request to club UPSC civil services exam of 2020 with 2021 exams and said that “this will have a cascading effect on other examinations.”
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday announced that kin of Hathras gangrape victim will be given Rs 25 lakh as ex-gratia and a house, and a government job will be given to a member of the family. The government has formed a three-member SIT to probe the case and said the matter will be heard in the fast track
court. UP CM Yogi Adityanath spoke to the victim’s family through video confer-
encing. He had said earlier in the day that PM Narendra Modi has stated that strictest action should be taken against the culprits involved in the incident. The SIT comprises Home Secretary Bhagwan Swaroop and two other officials. The 19-yr-old victim died in Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday. —ANI
Rupani govt’s 25% school fees discount is too little too late, say parents IRATE PARENTS TO LAUNCH AN AGITATION AND ALSO EXPLORE LEGAL OPTIONS Haresh Jhala Gandhinagar: The state government’s decision to give students at private schools a 25% discount on fees for the current academic year has further ruffled feathers, rather than smoothing them. The announcement has not gone down well with par-
ents across the state, who had been expecting at least a 50% discount in school fees. Announcing the decision at a state cabinet meeting, Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama had said, “The state government has decided that all private schools whose fees are decided by the Fees Regulatory
Committee (FRC) will have to abide by the state decision and give
25% discount to students for the academic year. The management
cannot take any extracurricular fees from students. If they have
collected 100% fees, the school management will have to readjust it.” Chudasama also said that school managements cannot cut salaries of teachers or school staff either, and added that there was no question of calling any association for dialogue since there is no single registered parents association in the state. All Gujarat Vali Mandal President Naresh Shah had been called for the meeting because he had filed a petition before the
court. He further stated that Shah had told the government that parents would with whatever decision the government took in the interest of students and parents. However, the decision has received flak from several parents’ associations, with some parents referring to the cut as a “lollipop”. Many are demanding a minimum concession of 50%. Kamal Rawal, a member of the All Gujarat Vali Mandal, says that
the state’s decision is unacceptable. He has even questioned Shah’s credibility and alleged that the state would not have even announced the 25% cut had Shah not agreed to it. Rawal is among the parents who want a 50% reduction in fees. The Congress oarty has also condemned the state’s decision. The party’s chief spokesperson, Manish Doshi alleged that even this decision only came because the high court had directed Turn on P6