Malegaon blast victims’ kin challenge acquittal of accused in Bombay HC

Family members of six victims who died in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast have approached Bombay High Court, seeking to overturn the recent acquittal of all seven accused, including BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit.

The appeal, filed on Monday by Nisar Ahmed Sayyed Bilal and five others through advocate Mateen Shaikh, challenges the 31 July judgment delivered by the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court, and argues that the judgment is legally flawed and must be quashed.

The appellants contend that even if the investigation had shortcomings, such deficiencies should not automatically result in acquittal. They argue that the trial court judge failed in their responsibility, stating: “The trial court has unfortunately acted as a mere post-office and allowed a deficient prosecution to benefit the accused.”

They added: “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.”

The appeal also drew attention to past allegations by former special public prosecutor Rohini Salian, who had claimed she was pressured by the NIA to "go slow" in the case, leading to her eventual replacement.

The blast occurred on 29 September 2008 near a mosque in Malegaon, in Maharashtra's Nashik district, killing six people and injuring 101. An explosive device strapped to a motorcycle was used in the attack.

The state Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had initially arrested the seven accused, unearthing what it described as a wide-reaching conspiracy. According to the appeal, this was the last such blast in an area with a sizeable minority population, suggesting that the conspiracy was credible.

However, the NIA, after taking over the case from the ATS, was accused by the petitioners of diluting the charges.

The appeal disputes the special court’s conclusion that the motorcycle used in the blast was not owned by Thakur and that the RDX used was not procured by Purohit. It asserts that there was sufficient evidence proving that the accused had conspired to carry out the attack.

“There was enough evidence to show the accused persons had hatched the conspiracy to carry out the blast,” the petition stated, while emphasising that a conspiracy is often carried out in secrecy and thus cannot always be proven with direct evidence.

Special judge A.K. Lahoti, who presided over the NIA court, had acquitted all seven accused citing lack of reliable and cogent evidence to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.

The court had observed that while the prosecution alleged the blast was carried out by right-wing extremists to terrorise the Muslim community in Malegaon, the evidence presented was insufficient for conviction.

The judgment highlighted several gaps in the prosecution’s case and investigation, ultimately concluding that the accused deserved the benefit of doubt.

The high court appeal is expected to be listed for hearing on 15 September before a division bench headed by Justice A.S. Gadkari.

Besides Thakur and Purohit, the other acquitted accused include Major Ramesh Upadhyay (retd), Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, and Sameer Kulkarni.

With PTI inputs