A Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court in Lucknow has acquitted a 78-year-old man in a 33-year-old sedition case, holding that the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt and could not produce crucial evidence linking him to the alleged offence.
Additional District and Sessions Judge and Special Judge (NIA) Umakant Jindal delivered the judgment on July 31, acquitting Mohammed Naeem, a resident of Ismailpur in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur district. He had been facing trial under Sections 124A (sedition), 295A (outraging religious feelings) and 153B (imputations prejudicial to national integration) of the Indian Penal Code.
The case was registered at Kotwali Police Station in Gorakhpur in 1993.
Case Related to Republic Day Incident in 1993
According to the prosecution, on January 26, 1993, then Kotwali Inspector Pawan Kumar Singh and other police personnel were on patrol when they allegedly saw people hoisting black flags in the Ismailpur area and raising slogans such as “Pakistan Zindabad” and “Republic Day Murdabad.”
The FIR also alleged that the accused made statements referring to the demolition of the Babri Masjid, called for “another Pakistan” in India, and delivered speeches that promoted communal hatred.
Police claimed that the accused fled before they could be arrested and that four black flags were recovered from the spot. Mohammed Naeem, Mohammad Yusuf, Ataullah and others were later named as accused.
Court Finds Serious Gaps in Prosecution Case
The court found several procedural and evidentiary shortcomings in the prosecution’s case.
It noted that the black flags allegedly recovered from the scene were never produced before the court and no proper seizure memo was submitted to establish their recovery.
The court also observed that one of the prosecution’s key witnesses, Constable Durvijay Singh, admitted during cross-examination that the people allegedly raising slogans had already fled by the time police reached the spot.
The judgment further pointed out that the complainant, Inspector Pawan Kumar Singh, was examined only in chief and was never produced for cross-examination despite repeated opportunities.
The second investigating officer also admitted that he never visited the scene, did not record any fresh witness statements and filed the chargesheet solely on the basis of material collected by the previous investigating officer.
The court questioned how police identified Naeem and the other accused when prosecution witnesses themselves stated that those allegedly involved had fled before police arrived. It also noted that no independent witness was produced to connect Naeem to the incident.
Defence Says Investigation Lasted Years
According to Naeem’s counsel, Rahul Sonkar, the investigation remained pending for years. He said the first investigating officer filed a final report in 2003, stating there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the accused. However, after the report was not accepted, another investigating officer filed a chargesheet in 2005 without collecting fresh evidence.
During the proceedings, co-accused Mohammad Yusuf and Ataullah died, leaving Naeem as the sole surviving accused to face trial.
‘I Feel Vindicated’: Naeem
Following the verdict, Mohammed Naeem became emotional.
“Now I hope people will stop calling me anti-national. For 33 years, I kept telling everyone that I am innocent, that I had been falsely implicated. Today, I feel vindicated,” he told The Times of India.
The court acquitted Naeem of all charges, cancelled his bail bonds and directed that the statutory bond under Section 437A of the Code of Criminal Procedure remain in force for six months.
