2013 UP Muzaffarnagar riots case: Court acquits 37 accused

Some shops burnt down by rioters in Muzaffarnagar on September 10, 2013. File | Photo credit: The Hindu

Citing the absence of evidence against them, a Muzaffarnagar court recently acquitted 37 people accused of murdering eight Muslims during communal violence that rocked the district 13 years ago in 2013.

Communal riots in Muzaffarnagar in August–September 2013 left over 60 dead. Dubbed as the “worst riot in Uttar Pradesh” in the recent past, the riots have also left about 50,000 displaced persons who are still living in rehabilitation colonies set up by the government. The army was deployed to ensure law and order in the area and more than 500 FIRs were lodged against hundreds of identified and unidentified persons for crimes like murder, gangrape, looting, arson and others.

2013 Muzaffarnagar Riot Cases | Eight years later, over 1,100 acquitted, only seven convicted

Houses were attacked

In one such incident, Mohd. Imran, a native of Kutba village in Muzaffarnagar, claimed that a mob of about 100 people armed with sharp weapons attacked houses belonging to the minority community on September 8, 2013. According to the complainant, several houses were set on fire and Muslim properties were looted.

Following a complaint, the police arrested 37 Hindu men for the crime. Eight defendants died during the trial.

On 20 February 2026, Additional District and Sessions Judge Manjula Bhalotiya acquitted all the accused citing absence of evidence against them.

This is not the first case where the accused have been acquitted for lack of evidence.

Earlier this month, a court acquitted 22 people in connection with the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots-related murder, loot and arson case, citing lack of evidence.

“In the over a decade-long trial, 31 witnesses were produced in court, most of whom turned hostile,” a lawyer associated with the case told The Hindu.

Former Muzaffarnagar government advisor Dushyant Tyagi confirmed to The Hindu that all the accused were given clean juice in around 95 cases over the last 13 years. He added that in almost all of these cases, the prosecution never bothered to file an appeal.

“Conviction was in one case of gang-rape and one case of murder. The SIT submitted its final report in several cases stating that the same could not be investigated further,” Mr. Tyagi said.

He added that during the trial, the number of FIRs was also reduced as it was found that duplicate cases relating to the same offense had been filed.

A report submitted to the Supreme Court in 2021 stated that the Uttar Pradesh government proposed to withdraw 77 cases related to the Muzaffarnagar riots. In one of these cases, 12 BJP leaders, including former minister Suresh Rana, former BJP MLA Sangit Som, former BJP MP Bhartendu Singh and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Sadhvi Prachi, were charged with hate speech.

Published – 25 Feb 2026 11:17 IST