Hyderabad: The Special Court for MP/MLA cases here on Tuesday, June 30, acquitted Goshamahal MLA T Raja Singh in the 2022 case registered at Mangalhat police station over his remarks against Prophet Muhammad.

Singh had posted a video on YouTube on the night of August 22, 2022, in which he made derogatory comments about the Prophet and also targeted comedian Munawar Faruqui and his mother, later calling the video “comedy.” He posted it days after the Telangana government allowed Faruqui to perform in Hyderabad, a show Singh had tried to disrupt.

The video sparked protests across the Old City through the night, with large crowds gathering at Shalibanda and other areas demanding his arrest. Clashes between protestors and police left a sub-inspector and at least three others injured, shops across several markets downed shutters, and effigies of Singh were burnt.

The BJP suspended him from the party over the remarks. Singh was first arrested and briefly released on a technicality, then re-arrested days later and detained under the Preventive Detention Act, spending 77 days in jail before being granted bail. He was eventually booked in eight cases by the Hyderabad and Cyberabad police over the episode.

In Tuesday’s verdict, the court acquitted Singh after the complainant stated during proceedings that the verses he had cited made reference to Islamic literature. Going through the evidence and witnesses on record, the court held that no case had been made out against him. Singh has faced more than 40 cases across police stations in the city over the years and has been acquitted in most of them.

Following the verdict, Singh said it affirmed his four-year legal battle and his faith in the judiciary, and thanked his supporters and lawyers for standing by him through the proceedings.