A Rajasthan court on Tuesday acquitted Muslim cleric Syed Gohar Husain Chisti and five others accused of shouting slogans in 2022 that called for the “beheading” of former Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Nupur Sharma, Bar and Bench reported.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Ritu Meena issued the order after noting that there was insufficient evidence against the six persons to substantiate the allegations against them, Live Law reported. A detailed order is awaited.

On June 17, 2022, Chisti, the cleric of a dargah in Rajasthan’s Ajmer district, and the five others had allegedly shouted slogans at a protest calling for the beheading of Sharma, saying that this was the only punishment for those who insult Prophet Muhammad.

This came in response to comments made by Sharma about the Prophet during a debate on the Times Now television channel on May 26, 2022.

Her comments had led to a spate of violence and unrest across several parts of the country. Two men were killed in separate incidents in Rajasthan’s Udaipur and Maharashtra’s Amravati for supporting her. Several first information reports were filed against Sharma for her remarks.

India also faced diplomatic outrage from a number of Gulf countries. She was later suspended by the BJP.

A purported video of Chisti shouting slogans against Sharma had surfaced on social media, following which he was arrested from Hyderabad on July 15, 2022, Bar and Bench reported.

Chisti was booked under Indian Penal Code sections pertaining to the abetment of offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life if offence not committed (section 115), abetting commission of offence by the public or by more than 10 persons (section 117) and intentional insult to provoke breach of peace (section 504), among others.

In court, Chisti had contended that he had organised the “peaceful” protest with permission in response to Sharma’s remarks that had hurt the community’s religious sentiments, Live Law reported.

The prosecution had claimed that the video of the protest was widely circulated online, which incited the killing of the two men, Live Law reported.