Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhan, who headed the commission that probed the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya, died in Chandigarh on 3rd August, 2026 at the age of 87. Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association President Rohit Sud confirmed his passing, with last rites performed on 4th August, 2026.

About Justice M.S. Liberhan

Born on 11 November 1938 in a village that later became part of Chandigarh, Liberhan was the son of eminent lawyer Chaudhary Bakhtawar Singh. He enrolled as an advocate in 1962, initially practising in Ambala before moving to the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 1964.

Career of Justice M.S. Liberhan

M.S. Liberhan was elected to the Punjab and Haryana Bar Council in August 1970, serving as its secretary from 1976 to 1983 and as a member until 1987.
He also served as Additional Advocate General and later Advocate General of Haryana.
He was elevated as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on 11 February 1987, later becoming Chief Justice of the Madras High Court in July 1997 and Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in February 1998, from where he retired.
Colleagues remembered him as a fiercely independent judge known for his integrity and deep legal knowledge.

Role of Justice M.S. Liberhan in the Babri Masjid Commission

On 16 December 1992, just ten days after the Babri Masjid's demolition, Liberhan was appointed head of a one-man inquiry commission by the P.V. Narasimha Rao government.

What was meant to be a three-month probe stretched over 17 years, with 48 extensions and around 100 witnesses examined, making it one of independent India's longest-running inquiries. Submitted on 30 June 2009, the report concluded the demolition was "neither spontaneous nor unplanned" but the result of a carefully orchestrated conspiracy.

Even after a special CBI court acquitted all accused in 2020, Liberhan continued to stand by his findings until his final years.