Justice Liberhan Called Babri Demolition a Planned Conspiracy Till End

Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhan, who headed the commission that investigated the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, will be remembered for examining one of independent India’s most contentious political and communal episodes. In its report submitted to the Union government on June 30, 2009, the commission concluded that the demolition on December 6, 1992, was “neither spontaneous nor unplanned” but the outcome of a carefully organised conspiracy. Liberhan remained firm in that assessment throughout his life.

The Liberhan Commission of Inquiry was constituted shortly after the 16th-century mosque was demolished by kar sevaks who had gathered in Ayodhya. Its mandate included investigating the circumstances that led to the destruction, identifying possible failures by government authorities and examining the roles played by political leaders and organisations associated with the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. Initially expected to complete its work within a short period, the commission ultimately became one of India’s longest-running inquiries and submitted its findings after nearly 17 years.

The commission’s conclusions became a significant part of the historical and political record surrounding the demolition. It maintained that the mobilisation leading to the incident had been carefully prepared and that the destruction could not be treated merely as an uncontrolled reaction by the assembled crowd. The report also examined questions of administrative responsibility and the conduct of individuals occupying influential political and organisational positions. Its findings generated intense debate, with supporters and critics offering sharply different interpretations of the evidence.

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A special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Lucknow acquitted all the accused in the criminal demolition case in September 2020, holding that there was insufficient evidence to establish that the incident resulted from a pre-planned conspiracy. Despite the criminal court’s verdict, Liberhan did not retreat from the conclusions reached by his commission. The commission’s findings and the CBI court’s judgment emerged from separate proceedings, with different mandates and standards, and their contrasting conclusions continued to shape public discussion about responsibility for the demolition.

Born on November 11, 1938, in a village that later became part of Chandigarh, Liberhan was the son of prominent lawyer Chaudhary Bakhtawar Singh. He enrolled as an advocate in 1962 and began practising in the district courts of Ambala before progressing through the legal profession and joining the judiciary. Although his career extended beyond the Babri Masjid inquiry, his name remained closely associated with the commission and its detailed examination of the events surrounding the demolition.

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