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Babri demolition case judge takes over as UP’s deputy Lokayukta
Surendra Kumar Yadav served as a special judge in the Babri case on a Supreme Court order. He acquitted former deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, and 31 others accused of criminal conspiracy to bring down the 16th-century Babri mosque in Ayodhya in 1992
Surendra Kumar Yadav took oath as Uttar Pradesh’s deputy Lokayukta (anti-corruption ombudsman) on Monday months after he acquitted former deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, and 31 others accused of criminal conspiracy to bring down the 16th-century Babri mosque in Ayodhya in 1992.
Lokayukta Justice (retired) Sanjay Mishra administered the oath to Yadav. Additional chief secretary (home) Awanish Kumar Awasthi, deputy Lokayukta Dinesh Kumar Singh, and secretary (Lokayukta’s office) AK Singh were present at the oath-taking ceremony.
Yadav retired as district judge (Lucknow) on September 30, 2019. But he served as a special judge in the Babri case on a Supreme Court order.
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On September 30 last year, Yadav acquitted the 32 accused in the case, citing a lack of evidence.
The demolition triggered violence across the country and left hundreds of people dead.
In its verdict, the special court blamed “miscreants”, who mingled with the crowd, for the demolition.
It came a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the Ram Temple at the demolition site. The Supreme Court earlier in 2019 paved the way for the temple construction.
