New Delhi: The Supreme Court has extended the deadline for a special CBI court in Lucknow to deliver the verdict in the Babri Masjid demolition case.
The top court had ordered the special judge to deliver the verdict within nine months on July 19 last year. That ended last month. The new deadline is August 31, 2020.
The deadline extension was granted as the CBI judge had written to the Supreme Court seeking more time citing the nationwide lockdown, which was clamped on March 25 to curb the spread of novel coronavirus.
A bench comprising Justices R F Nariman and Surya Kant observed that the CBI judge should use video-conferencing facilities to complete the proceedings and added that the fresh deadline must “no longer breached”.
The Babri Masjid was demolished on December 6, 1992.
Among the 32 people facing trial are veteran BJP leaders Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Kalyan Singh and former Union minister Uma Bharti.
