In this file photo, dated July 2005, is seen senior BJP leaders LK Advani, MM Joshi and Uma Bharti in Raebareli. Advani, Joshi and Bharti, accused in Babri mosque demolition case, have been acquitted by the special CBI court after the pronouncement of its judgment in the case, on Wednesday, September 30, 2020. Photo: PTI

Lucknow: The Allahabad high court on Monday reserved its order on the issue of maintainability of an appeal challenging the acquittal of all 32 accused, including former deputy prime minister L.K. Advani, in the Babri mosque demolition case.

A Lucknow bench of justices Ramesh Sinha and Saroj Yadav passed the order on the appeal by two Ayodhya residents Haji Mahmood Ahmad and Syed Akhlaq Ahmad.

The other leaders whose acquittal has been challenged are the then Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh, senior BJP leaders M.M. Joshi, Uma Bharti, Vinay Katiyar and Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, and Sadhvi Ritambhara.

The duo alleged in the petition that they were witnesses in the trial against the accused and “victims” of the demolition of the disputed structure.

In its objection, the state government and the CBI had stressed that the two appellants were not complainants or victims in the case and as such they cannot appeal as a stranger against the verdict of the trial court.

After hearing the arguments of the parties, the bench reserved its order.

This story was originally published in thewire.in . Read the full story here