The Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) has welcomed the judgment of the Court of the 4th Additional Sessions Judge, Khargone (Mandleshwar), Madhya Pradesh, which has acquitted all 11 accused in Sessions Trial No. 75/2022 arising out of Crime No. 237/2022 of Police Station Khargone.
The case arose from the communal violence that took place during the Ram Navami procession on 10 April 2022 in Bhatwadi Mohalla, Khargone. The prosecution alleged that a group of Muslim men had attacked Hindu homes with stones and petrol bombs, causing damage to residential properties and vehicles, and had committed offences including rioting, arson, criminal conspiracy, house trespass, and offences under the Explosive Substances Act.
Appearing on behalf of APCR, Adv. Rekha Shrivastav represented the accused throughout the proceedings. She consistently maintained that the prosecution’s case was unsupported by reliable evidence and failed to satisfy the standard of proof required in criminal law.
After a detailed appreciation of the evidence, the Sessions Court found that the prosecution had failed to establish the guilt of any of the accused beyond reasonable doubt. During the trial, 13 prosecution witnesses were examined. Eight of them, including nearly all the complainants, did not support the prosecution’s case and failed to identify any of the accused before the Court.