26 years & 200 hearings later, UP man booked for 'owning' 4 bullets let off

MEERUT: Mohd Salauddin, 62, who had been fighting a case in court for the past 26 years, is a relieved man now after the court recently exonerated him for “lack of evidence”. This small farmer, having just over 10 bighas of land, is a resident of a village in Shamli and was 36 when the Muzaffarnagar police booked him under the Arms Act for allegedly possessing four 12 bore bullets in 1995.
Over the past 26 years and after 200 hearings, Salauddin maintains that the allegations levelled against him were "false" and that he had been "framed" by his relatives “out of personal enmity”.
He was arrested in 1995 and he even served 20 days in jail. "My whole life was spent attending court hearings. The case sucked up my earnings as well. What should I say? I am thankful to god," Salauddin said.
Chief judicial magistrate Manoj Kumar, in his order, observed that the prosecution did not testify the charges nor produced any evidence before the court during the course of the trial. Their right to testify was withdrawn in 2019.
Salauddin's son, Ashu Ahmad, said his father developed thrombosis in the foot, which caused him intense pain when he walked long distances. "As a result, he had to take painkillers before going to court and this caused him immense discomfort,"Ashu said, adding that he was just two years of age when the case was slapped against his father.
Salauddin says he had to bear substantial legal expenses when he just earned roughly Rs 20,000 a month. He also had the responsibility to feed a family of five, besides spending on his medicines.
Ending the long-drawn trial, the court in its judgment order on November 9 said, "Now that the prosecution could not prove the charges against the accused, Mohd Salauddin is given the benefit of doubt and, hence, is exonerated of all charges made against him under the Arms Act.”