Four years after communal violence erupted in Khargone during Ram Navami in April 2022, the criminal justice process has yet to produce a conviction.
Sixty-five cases were registered after the violence. Around 20 cases are still being heard in local courts at different stages, and around 60 accused remain untraced, according to police sources. Now, in one of the cases that reached judgment, a sessions court has acquitted all 11 accused. Over a month after the acquittal on 27 July, the Madhya Pradesh government is reviewing the verdict and is expected to challenge it in the High Court.
The acquittal, however, does not mean that the violence did not happen. The sessions court has accepted that the incident took place. What the prosecution failed to establish was that these 11 men were responsible for the offences with which they were charged.
That distinction is important. It also raises a larger question about the aftermath of the Khargone violence: If the riot happened, why has the State struggled to establish individual criminal responsibility for it?
This story was originally published in thequint.com. Read the full story here.
