The killing occurred after violence broke out on 28 February 2002 in the Naroda Gam district of Ahmedabad city.
Since the trial began in 2009, 17 of the 86 defendants have died, and one person was acquitted.
The accused in the case include former Minister of State Maya Kodnani and Babu Bajrangi, former leader of the right-wing Hindu group Bajrang Dal.
The verdict was announced amid heightened security before a court in Ahmedabad, Gujarat state. Family members of the acquitted welcomed the verdict with chants of Jai Shri Ram (Hail Tuan Ram) and Bharat Mata Ki Jai (Victory to Mother India), local media reported.
Prosecutor Gaurang Vyas told the Indian Express newspaper that prosecutors would forward the ruling to the state’s legal department, deciding whether to appeal to a higher court.
Kodnani, a former minister of the ruling BJP, was also a defendant in a riot that killed 97 people in 2002. He was found guilty but was later acquitted by a higher court.
Riots in Gujarat resulted in the deaths of more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims.
The riots started after 60 Hindu pilgrims were killed in a train fire blamed on Muslims in Godhra. The violence is one of the largest riots in India.
