Daily briefing: Uma took onus, says Justice Liberhan on Babri Masjid demolition; Rs 100 crore required to save INS Viraat

We are covering the Babri demolition verdict, Hathras gangrape and the new unlockdown guidelines. 

The Babri Verdict

Rejecting evidence from photos, videos, and speeches of the accused, a special CBI court acquitted all 32 surviving accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case. And the court referred to the possible involvement of Pakistani intelligence agencies and terrorists disguised as kar sevaks. 

However, two orders of the Supreme Court in the last three years had pointed to the charge of conspiracy behind the mosque demolition. Most recently, in 2019, the apex court called the destruction of the Babri Masjid a “calculated act” and “an egregious violation of the rule of law”.

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And the Liberhan Commission, set up in 1992 to probe the Babri Masjid demolition, had said the mobilisation of “kar sevaks” was neither “spontaneous or voluntary” but “orchestrated and planned”.

From The Front Page

As the UP government set up a Special Investigation Team to probe the alleged gangrape of a 19-year-old Dalit woman by four upper caste men in Hathras, and her death, several of the state’s Dalit MPs from the ruling BJP told The Indian Express that the incident has “dented” the administration’s image and is “politically damaging”.

States and Union Territories can take a decision on whether to open schools from October 15; cinemas and multiplexes will be allowed to open with 50 per cent capacity from the same date; cap on outdoor gatherings have been removed — these are among the new unlockdown guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

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Even though Ram Vilas Paswan is bargaining too hard this time, BJP general secretary in-charge Bhupender Yadav is confident that the saffron party, JD(U) and the LJP will fight the Bihar polls strongly and will form government again with a three/fourth majority.

A day after Beijing said that it does not recognise the Union Territory of Ladakh, Indian and Chinese diplomats on Wednesday met through virtual mode and New Delhi said that the two sides should “avoid misunderstandings and maintain stability on the ground”.

With their protests entering the second phase today, farmers across Punjab will hold ‘rail roko’ across 24 locations, apart from two places where it is already underway, and will stage daily demonstrations outside the houses of seven BJP leaders.

Rs 100 crore is what it will take for a Gujarat-based ship-breaking firm to hand over INS Viraat to a Mumbai company that is making a last-ditch attempt to save the historic aircraft carrier and convert it into a museum.

ICYMI

• Days after the Hathras gangrape and murder case, a 22-year-old Dalit woman died after she was raped, in Uttar Pradesh’s Balrampur.
• The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a plea to postpone the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services (Preliminary) Exam, scheduled for October 4.
• The Mumbai Police issued a summons to film-maker Anurag Kashyap to be present for questioning on Thursday in connection with a rape case filed against him by an actress.
• The Gujarat government on Wednesday announced a 25 per cent fee reduction in private schools for the current academic year across all boards.
• The Supreme Court has deferred till next week the hearing on the CBI’s appeal against the Kerala High Court order upholding Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s discharge in the SNC-Lavalin graft case.

And Finally

From re-quarantine without pay to removal from the team without replacement — violating the four acts of omission and commission that will be considered as breaching the bio-bubble can prove to be costly, quite literally, for IPL players, The Indian Express has learnt. 

Delhi Confidential: Nearly three weeks after Congress president Sonia Gandhi set up a Central Election Authority for holding elections for the post of party chief, the authority has started work in that direction. 

In today’s episode of Three Things Podcast, we discuss the many questions raised by the redevelopment of the iconic Central Vista area in the national capital.

Until tomorrow,

Leela Prasad and Liu Chuen Chen