Bombay High Court has issued notices to NIA, Maharashtra govt, and seven acquitted accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case after victims’ families challenged their acquittal. The court will hear the appeal in six weeks.
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has taken a major step in the 2008 Malegaon blast case by issuing notices to all seven people who were acquitted earlier this year. These notices were issued on Thursday after the families of the victims, who lost their lives in the blast, challenged the acquittal before the court.
A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad issued notices not only to the seven acquitted persons but also to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Maharashtra government. The High Court has now posted the matter for hearing after six weeks.
The appeal was filed last week by the families of six people who were killed in the Malegaon blast on September 29, 2008. The petition argued that the special NIA court wrongly acquitted the accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit.
The families said that just because there were faults in the investigation, the accused could not be let free. They added that the conspiracy behind the blast was secret in nature, so it could not be expected to have direct evidence.
The petition further stated that the special NIA court’s decision dated July 31, acquitting the seven accused, was
“wrong and bad in law and hence deserved to be quashed.”
The blast had taken place when an explosive device tied to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon town, located about 200 km from Mumbai in Maharashtra’s Nashik district. The explosion killed six people and left 101 others injured.
The appeal strongly criticised the special NIA court, saying:
“The trial court judge should not act as a ‘postman or mute spectator’ in a criminal trial. When the prosecution failed to elicit facts, the trial court can ask questions and/or summon witnesses.”
It further alleged:
“The trial court has unfortunately acted as a mere post office and allowed a deficient prosecution to benefit the accused.”
The petition also raised doubts about the way the NIA handled the investigation. According to the families, the NIA’s role in the probe and trial helped the accused escape punishment, and they sought that the accused be convicted.
The petitioners pointed out that the state Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), at the time of arresting the accused, had uncovered a bigger conspiracy.
They claimed that
“since then, there has been no blast in areas populated by the minority community.”
They alleged that when the NIA took over the case from ATS, it diluted the charges against the accused persons.
The special NIA court, while acquitting the accused, had made it clear that suspicion alone could not replace proof. The court stated that there was no reliable evidence against the accused to secure a conviction.
Special Judge AK Lahoti had noted that there was no “reliable and cogent evidence” to prove the prosecution’s case beyond a reasonable doubt.
According to the prosecution, the Malegaon blast was carried out by right-wing extremists to spread fear among the Muslim community in the communally sensitive town.
But the special court pointed out serious loopholes in the investigation and gave the accused the benefit of doubt.
The acquitted persons include Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt Col Prasad Purohit, retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, and Sameer Kulkarni.
This new appeal by the victims’ families has once again brought the Malegaon blast case back into focus, raising big questions about the investigation and trial process. The final outcome will now depend on the Bombay High Court’s next hearings.
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