Punjab and Haryana High Court says anti-government chanting not sedition
Big news from the Punjab and Haryana High Court: chanting anti-government slogans is not sedition in India.
The judges said that even if protests get rowdy, they do not automatically count as sedition because they lack the intent to bring hatred or contempt against the government.
This decision came while upholding the acquittal of several people accused of rioting after Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's 2017 rape conviction.
Court finds insufficient evidence for convictions
The court found there just was not enough proof to link the accused to the violence.
Witnesses could not reliably identify anyone at the scene, and forensic tests did not back up claims about gasoline or kerosene being used.
The judges reminded everyone that suspicion is not enough: you need solid evidence to convict someone in criminal cases.