HAJI MAHBOOB AHMAD Vs. STATE OF U.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellants, Haji Mohboob Ahmad and Syed Akhlaq Ahmad, claiming themselves to be victim, have filed the instant criminal appeal under Sec. 372 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as ''Cr.P.C.'), challenging the judgment and order dtd. 30/9/2020 passed by the Special Judge (Ayodhya Matter), Lucknow in Sessions Trial No. 344 of 1994 : State Vs. Pawan Kumar Pandey and others arising out of Case Crime No. 197 of 1992 and Sessions Trial No. 423 of 2017 : State Vs. Lal Krishna Advani and others, (R.C. 8 (s)/92-S.I.U-V/S.I.C.-II, R.C. No. 1 (S)/93-S.I.C.-IV and R.C. No.2 (S)/93 along with 48 (S)/93, under Ss. 147, 149, 120-B, 114 read with Sec. 153A, 153B, 505, 295, 295A, 395, 332/338, 201 and 505 (1) (b) of the Indian Penal Code (in short, ''IPC'), whereby accused persons were acquitted.

(2.) On 6/12/1992, the disputed structure, popularly known as "Ram Janam Bhoomi/Babri Masjid" at Ayodhya was demolished by a group of persons. Consequent upon demolition of the aforesaid structure, two cases were registered on the same day i.e. (i) Crime No. 197/1992 under Ss. 395, 397, 332, 337, 238, 295, 297, 153A IPC was registered by the police of Police Station Ram Janam Bhoomi, District Faizabad, against unnamed Kar Sevaks; and (ii) Crime No. 198 of 1992 was also registered by the police of Police Station Ram Janam Bhoomi District Faizabad wherein eight persons were implicated as accused under Ss. 153A, 153B, 505, 147, 149 IPC. In the aforesaid cases, there were allegations of widespread commission of robbery, rioting and mischief and other minor offences by different groups of persons against the media and 47 crimes were also registered for offences punishable under Ss. 392, 394, 395, 147, 427, 336, etc. The investigation of the crime registered as Case Crime No. 197 of 92 was entrusted to the Central Bureau of Investigation (C.B.I.) on 13/12/1992, upon which the CBI re-registered the case as R.C. No. 8(S)/92-SIU.V-New Delhi. However, the investigation of Case Crime No. 198 of 92 was taken over by CBCID of the State of Uttar Pradesh on 10/12/1992. On 16/12/1992, the State of Uttar Pradesh, in consultation with this Court, established a Special Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class with its place of sitting at Lalitpur, to try the case relating to Crime No. 198/1992. The CB CID of the State filed the final report under Sec. 173 of the Cr.P.C. After that, Crime No. 198 of 1992 had been registered against all eight accused persons named in the First Information Report, for the offences under Ss. 153A, 153B, 505, 147 and 149 IPC. Thereafter, the Special Judicial Magistrate at Lalitpur took cognizance of the case on 1/3/1993.

(3.) Heard Shri Syed Farman Naqvi, learned Senior Advocate assisted by Shri Najam Zafar, Mohammad Amit Naqvi, Shri Munwar Hussain, appearing on behalf of the appellants, Shri Arunendra, learned Additional Government Advocate appearing on behalf of respondent no.1/State, Shri Shiv P. Shukla, learned Counsel appearing on behalf of respondent no.2/C.B.I. and Shri Raghvendra Singh, learned Senior Advocate assisted by Shri Abhishek Singh, appearing on behalf of the respondent no.28, on the question of locus of the appellants to maintain the instant appeal.