Observing that safe water is a basic human necessity, a court in Maharashtra’s Raigad on October 31 acquitted eight men and one woman who were booked for locking a government office in Pen village and confining officials during a protest for clean drinking water last year. The court said that the conduct of those booked was ‘consistent with civic protest’ and was not a criminal conspiracy for private gain or vengeance.

The nine individuals had allegedly entered the office of the branch engineer, Maharashtra Life Authority, in charge of the Jal Jeevan Mission Project for 38 villages and 108 hamlets of the Kharepati division of the taluka, on February 6, 2024, around 3.30 pm. They were booked on charges including rioting, unlawful assembly, use of criminal force against a public servant, an

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