Babri demolition case: Murli Manohar Joshi says false evidence against him, denies conspiracy

Ranjan said the CBI, has been directed to get the signature of Joshi on documents carrying his statement and submit them to the court.

Joshi is the second accused in the case who deposed through video conference. On Tuesday, the court recorded the statement of Ram Chandra Khatri —lodged at Sonipat jail in Haryana — through video conference.

Former deputy prime minister Lal Krishna Advani (92) is likely to record his statement on Friday through video conference.

The mosque in Ayodhya was demolished on December 6, 1992, by ‘kar sevaks’ who claimed an ancient Ram temple stood at the same site. Advani and Joshi were among those leading the Ram temple movement at that time.

Since June 5, the special CBI court has been recording the statements of the accused under CrPC Section 313 after it completed the examination of 354 prosecution witnesses.

Under CrPC Section 313, the judge questions the accused on the basis of the evidence put before the court during the trial, and the accused is given an opportunity to refute the allegations levelled against him. So far, the court of Special Judge S K Yadav has recorded statements of 29 accused in the case.

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