Muslim men cleared after years in jail under India’s flawed terror law
Ruling highlights pattern of Muslim men jailed for years under India’s security laws before courts find cases unsupported by evidence
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — A special court in India has acquitted three Muslim men arrested under a sweeping anti-terror law in connection with the 2002 Akshardham Temple attack, reviving longstanding concerns over the use of counter-terror legislation against Muslim suspects despite weak or nonexistent evidence.
The Special Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) court in Ahmedabad last week cleared Abdul Rashid Suleman Ajmeri, Muhammad Farooq Muhammad Hafiz Shaikh and Muhammad Yasin alias Yasin Bhatt, ruling that there was no evidence linking them to the attack beyond material already rejected by India’s Supreme Court.
In its order, the court noted that the Supreme Court had earlier acquitted the main accused in the case after finding no prima facie evidence and strongly criticizing the investigation. It said no new or independent material had emerged against the three men, making their continued prosecution unsustainable.
The Akshardham attack, carried out in September 2002 in Gujarat, became one of India’s most high-profile terror cases and led to a series of arrests under POTA, a law that granted sweeping powers of detention and confession-based evidence. The legislation was repealed in 2004 following widespread criticism over misuse, particularly against Muslim men.
Two of the acquitted men had been working in Saudi Arabia at the time of the attack and were not in India when it occurred. They were later declared absconders and arrested in 2019 after returning to Ahmedabad, nearly two decades after the incident.
Legal advocacy for the accused was pursued by Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, a prominent Muslim body that has handled multiple terrorism-related defence cases. Its legal aid committee had earlier challenged the original convictions in the Akshardham case, which resulted in a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2014.
In that judgment, the Supreme Court acquitted all those convicted by lower courts, including men who had been sentenced to death, citing lack of evidence and serious investigative lapses. The apex court also issued a rare and sharp reprimand to Gujarat police and investigating agencies for what it described as a failure to conduct a fair and credible investigation.
Rights advocates say the latest acquittals underscore a broader pattern in India’s counter-terror framework, where Muslim men are often arrested under stringent security laws, spend years in prison awaiting trial, and are eventually acquitted after courts find the cases unsupported by evidence.
While welcoming the verdict, Arshad Madani, head of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, said the ruling exposed systemic failures. He said years lost to incarceration could never be restored and warned that prolonged trials under special security laws disproportionately damage Muslim lives, families and livelihoods even when innocence is eventually established.
The Akshardham case has become emblematic in debates over India’s use of extraordinary security legislation. Although POTA has since been repealed, similar concerns continue to be raised about newer laws, including the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which allows extended detention without trial.
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