In Brief
In February 2002, riots erupted at a village graveyard and mosque. Police arrested seven men named in the FIR and subsequently added twelve more accused. The trial court acquitted all 19 for insufficient evidence. The High Court partly reversed this, convicting six of the original seven solely on the basis of their arrest and naming in the FIR. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that mere presence at a riot scene or arrest on the spot does not prove membership in an unlawful assembly. Without evidence of specific overt acts, incitement, or carrying weapons, innocent bystanders cannot be convicted. The Court restored the acquittals, emphasizing that conviction requires positive proof of participation in the assembly's common object."
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