UP court acquits 22 in Muzaffarnagar riots murder, arson case

A Muzaffarnagar court has acquitted 22 people in a murder, loot and arson case linked to the 2013 riots, citing lack of evidence to prove charges.

The judge cited lack of evidence and failure of the prosecution to prove charges beyond reasonable doubt.

A court has acquitted 22 accused in a murder, loot and arson case linked to the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots. (File Photo)

2 min readFeb 8, 2026 11:13 AM IST First published on: Feb 8, 2026 at 11:13 AM IST

A court here has acquitted 22 people in connection with a murder, loot and arson case linked to the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, citing lack of evidence.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Kanishk Kumar acquitted the accused on Saturday, observing that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt, government counsel Narendra Sharma said.

He said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had filed a chargesheet against 26 people in the case related to incidents reported from Mohammadpur Raisingh village on September 8, 2013.

During the pendency of the trial, four of the accused died, leaving 22 to face the proceedings.

According to the prosecution, a complaint was lodged by one Haneef, alleging that hundreds of rioters attacked houses in the village, looted property and later set homes on fire.