Malegaon blast case: days after transfer order, trial judge gets extension till Aug

Bombay High Court has extended until 31 August the tenure of special NIA judge A.K. Lahoti — who is conducting the trial of the 2008 Malegaon blast case — days after it issued an order for his transfer to Nashik.

Lahoti's name featured in the annual transfer list of judges, issued earlier by the registrar-general of the high court.

As per the notification issued earlier this month, he was posted to a court in Nashik and the transfer order was to come into effect after the reopening of courts on 9 June following summer vacation.

However, a fresh notification mentioned that Lahoti's tenure has been stayed until 31 August, enabling him to pass the verdict in the case which is in the final stage of trial.

Six persons were killed and over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a town about 200 km from Mumbai in north Maharashtra, on 29 September 2008.

BJP leader and former Bhopal MP Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt Col Prasad Purohit and five others are being tried for their alleged involvement in the case.

The accused are facing prosecution under the provisions of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The case was initially probed by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) before being transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2011.