Former Union minister Murli Manohar Joshi deposed before a Special CBI court with regards to the Ayodhya demolition trial and recorded his statement through video conferencing from New Delhi on Thursday.
On Friday, former deputy prime minister Lal Krishna Advani will depose before the special court and he too will record his statement through video conferencing from New Delhi.
Of the total 32 accused of the demolition case, most have recorded their statements.
Special Court of (Ayodhya matter) Judge SK Yadav recorded the statements of the accused under Section 313 of the Criminal Procedure Code. After the Supreme Court’s strict direction, the court has speeded up recording the statements of the accused.
Earlier, the Special Court (Ayodhya matter) was asked by the apex court to complete the trial by April 18 but due to lockdown, the judge sought an extension. On his plea, the Supreme Court extended the time frame to complete the trial by August 31.
Forty-eight FIRs were registered in connection with the demolition of Babri mosque at Ram Janmabhoomi police station on December 6, 1992. First the case was probed by CB-CID before it was handed over to the CBI.
On May 31, 2017, the CBI filed chargesheet against 49 accused out of which 17 have died.
A judgement of the special court is expected later this year as last year, the Supreme Court had directed the special judge to deliver his judgement in nine months which again was delayed.