India, April 3 -- A Pune court has acquitted both the author and founder of Maratha Seva Sangh, Purushottam Suryabhan Khedekar, 77; and publisher Kishor Sahabrao Kadu, 47; in a 2011 case of hate speech over a book, holding that the prosecution failed to prove intent to incite enmity or any actual impact on public order. The judicial magistrate first class (court number 3) pronounced the verdict on March 18 while the detailed judgment was uploaded on March 27.

In its order, the court flagged serious gaps in the prosecution's case, noting that only two witnesses were examined, both of whom relied largely on hearsay. During cross-examination, the complainant admitted that he had not purchased or directly read the book and had learned about ...