The Supreme Court said the trial, set to begin in the northern city of Lucknow within the next four weeks, should be wrapped up in two years.
Earlier, a Lucknow court dropped conspiracy charges against senior BJP leaders, including Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharati.
The leaders were accused of instigating Hindus to demolish the Babri Mosque in 1992, which they consider was built after a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Lord Rama was destroyed by Muslim invaders. It is considered that Rama was born at the site of the demolished structure in Ayodhya.
The Supreme Court revived criminal conspiracy charges in the case against Vinay Katiyar, a BJP Member of Parliament, and Hindu organization leaders Sadhvi Ritambhara, Satish Pradhan and Champat Rai Bansal.
With Indian presidential elections coming up in July this year, speculation was rife that leaders like Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi may be in the race for president.
“Every citizen of India, who has the qualifications prescribed for the office of president, is entitled to contest presidential election irrespective of any allegation against him. Unless pronounced guilty by the court, a person is assumed to be innocent and they are entitled to all the rights of citizenship,” Subhas Kashyap, a constitutional expert and former secretary general of Lok Sabha, said.
The Indian Constitution allows these leaders to contest the presidential election but experts said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP are unlikely to project Advani or Murli Manohar Joshi as the president of India.
“It’s over for them. The ruling party will drop all discussions on making LK Advani or Murli Manohar Joshi as President. So, they will basically become martyrs of the cause,” Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, political analyst and author of the book Demolition: India at Crossroads based on the Babri Masjid demolition, said.
Mukhopadhyay expects further polarization in Indian society over the next two years. “They cannot be jailed. Therefore, for two years, they will face trial and make headlines. The media will initially give them a lot of coverage but the media frenzy will eventually die down. However, hearing in the Ayodhya case take place, there will be a polarization in public sentiment as some will be in favor of a mosque, while some will favor a temple.”
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