NEW DELHI — Following a rigorous 5.5-year deliberation process, a Delhi court formally concluded Thursday that firing live ammunition into a crowd of New Year's Eve revelers constitutes a "blatant violation" of a state legislator's arms license conditions.

Legal experts praised the justice system's deliberate pacing regarding the December 31, 2018 incident, noting the delay provided the absconding politician ample time to cycle through four different political parties and continue his public service uninterrupted. The court ultimately convicted the MLA of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, ruling that the bullet which struck and killed party guest Archana Gupta fell somewhere below the threshold of intentional homicide and slightly above routine festive exuberance.

"One cannot simply rush to judgment when a public servant discharges a weapon at a social gathering," said a legal official, noting that the politician's five prior criminal cases, including attempt to murder, required extensive paperwork to cross-reference. "The judicial system must ensure that every avenue of political maneuvering is fully exhausted before issuing a verdict."

The proceedings concluded with the court acquitting the lawmaker's wife and two associates of all evidence destruction charges, confirming that whatever evidence was allegedly tampered with in 2018 would have simply sat uninterrupted in a filing cabinet for 66 months anyway.