A special NIA court in Lucknow has acquitted a 78-year-old man in a sedition case registered more than three decades ago, holding that the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt and had not produced reliable evidence linking the accused to the alleged offence.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Umakant Jindal, in a judgment delivered on July 31, acquitted Mohammed Naeem, a resident of Ismailpur in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur district. The court pointed to serious lapses in the investigation and prosecution, observing that key evidence and witnesses failed to support the case.
The case dates back to January 26, 1993, when an FIR was registered at Kotwali police station in Gorakhpur. According to the prosecution, a police patrol allegedly saw a group of people hoisting black flags in Ismailpur locality and raising slogans such as “Pakistan Zindabad” and “Republic Day Murdabad”. It was also alleged that the accused made remarks linked to Pakistan, referred to the demolition of the Babri Masjid and delivered speeches that promoted communal hatred.
Police had booked the accused under provisions relating to sedition, promoting enmity between communities, outraging religious feelings and acts prejudicial to national integration. Four black flags were also claimed to have been recovered from the spot.
Although a chargesheet was filed in 2005, the case remained pending for years. After changes in jurisdiction following the formation of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the trial was transferred to the special NIA court in Lucknow.
During the trial, the court found significant procedural and evidentiary shortcomings. It observed that the black flags allegedly seized from the scene were never produced before the court and that no proper seizure memo had been placed on record.
The judgment also noted that one of the prosecution’s key witnesses admitted during cross-examination that the people allegedly raising slogans had already fled before police reached the spot. The complainant police officer was not produced for cross-examination, while the investigating officer admitted that he had not visited the scene, recorded no fresh witness statements and filed the chargesheet solely on the basis of material collected by the previous investigating officer.
Holding that these deficiencies created serious doubts about the prosecution’s case, the court acquitted Naeem, saying the allegations could not be established beyond reasonable doubt.
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