India, Nov. 10 -- A Jammu and Kashmir court has acquitted two men from Baramulla who spent six years in custody under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), ruling that serious inconsistencies in the prosecution's account of an alleged arms recovery made it unsafe to convict them.

Special Judge (UAPA) Feroz Ahmad Khan acquitted Huzaif Firdous Bhat, a resident of Choora in Sopore, and Ajaz Ahmad Bhat, from Kreeri in Baramulla, in a judgment delivered on November 5.

The court found that prosecution witnesses gave conflicting accounts of who had conducted the search and whether they were present when the alleged recovery was made. Their testimonies also differed on the quantity of ammunition seized, with some referring to 100 rou...