New Delhi: An Ajmer court has acquitted Gauhar Chishti, the Khadim of Ajmer Sharif Dargah, and five others, citing numerous procedural lapses and lack of concrete evidence in the prosecution’s case. The accused were arrested for allegedly raising controversial slogans targeting suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nupur Sharma in 2022.
The court ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove the guilt of Syed Gauhar Hussain Chishti, Tajim Siddiqui, Fakhar Jamali, Riyaz Hasan Dal, Moin Khan, and Nasir Khan beyond a reasonable doubt. Judge Ritu Meena emphasized that the evidence did not support the claim that the accused had gathered with the intent to commit a crime.
“The evidence on file also does not prove the fact that the accused had gathered at the spot to commit any crime, because the spot of the incident is the Dargah area, where a large number of people were present while offering Namaz. They were not gathered by the accused to commit a crime,” Judge Meena concluded.
The accused were acquitted under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 117 (abetting commission of an offense by the public or by more than ten persons), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 506 (criminal intimidation), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offense committed in prosecution of common object), and Section 115 (abetment of offense punishable with death or imprisonment for life if offense not committed) read with Section 302 (murder).
The case was initiated based on a complaint by constable Jayanarayan, who reported that on June 17, 2022, provocative speeches were made during a procession in Ajmer. The authorities had given permission for a silent procession to protest against Sharma’s comments. However, the FIR claimed that slogans such as “Gustakh-e-nabi ki ek hi sazaa, sar tan se juda, sar tan se juda (there’s only one apt punishment for wrongdoing, off with their heads)” were raised during the procession.
Sharma had made allegedly derogatory remarks about Prophet Mohammad during a television debate in 2022, which led to widespread anger and protests. She was subsequently suspended from the BJP.
Upon examining the allegations under Section 504 of the IPC, the court noted that witnesses claimed the alleged slogan was raised at the beginning of the procession and was related to the religious sentiments of a particular religion. The court concluded that it could not be assumed that the accused intended to cause harm to any specific person through the slogan.
“It is also proved from the evidence on file that when the procession started, the slogan was raised at the Nizam Gate. After that, the procession passed peacefully and no untoward incident occurred thereafter,” the court observed.
The court noted several inconsistencies in the prosecution’s evidence, including the fact that the complaint was filed eight days after the incident without a proper explanation for the delay, making the prosecution’s story doubtful. Furthermore, the court found contradictions in the video evidence presented, with discrepancies in the dates and the manner in which the videos were recorded.
“The CD of the incident that has been submitted in court was made on June 30, 2022, as per the file details on the CD. However, Jayanarayan had told the court that he had made a CD of the incident from his phone recording on June 26 and presented it to the officer in the case. This makes the CD doubtful,” the court noted.
Additionally, the court highlighted the prosecution’s failure to examine key witnesses and the inconsistency between the Section 65B certificate presented by Jayanarayan and his statements. The court found that the videos showed different angles of the incident, raising doubts about their authenticity.
The court also considered witness statements indicating that the slogans were raised near Nizam Gate before the procession began and that the procession itself was peaceful. The court concluded that there was no violation of the conditions for the silent procession.
The court noted that the accused were charged under Section 188 of the IPC, which requires a complaint by the public servant whose lawful order was not complied with. In this case, the officer who gave permission for the silent procession did not file the complaint, further weakening the prosecution’s case.
The court also pointed out the prosecution’s failure to question or present as witnesses M.S. Akbar and Mohammad Alimuddin, who sought permission for the silent procession. The absence of these key individuals cast further doubt on the prosecution’s narrative.
The prosecution had also alleged that the accused incited the public to commit crimes, linking the sloganeering to the killings of a tailor in Udaipur, Rajasthan, and a veterinary pharmacist in Amravati, Maharashtra, in 2022. However, the court rejected this assertion, noting that the accused were neither charged nor implicated in those cases.
The acquittal underscores the importance of thorough and transparent legal procedures in ensuring justice and raises questions about the initial handling of the case by the authorities.