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Key Points

Families of the victims have moved the Bombay High Court to challenge the acquittal of all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. They call the special NIA court's judgment "wrong and bad in law," dismissing the theory of "Saffron or Hindu terror." The blast had killed six people and injured over a hundred in the communally sensitive town. The NIA is also separately reviewing the verdict to decide on filing its own appeal.

Key Points: Malegaon Blast Victims Kin Challenge Pragya Thakur Acquittal in HC

  • Families argue acquittal ignores evidence of saffron terror conspiracy
  • Appeal seeks to reverse special NIA court's July 31 judgment
  • Blast killed 6, injured 101 near mosque during Ramzan
  • NIA still reviewing verdict, may file separate appeal
2 min read

2008 Malegaon blast: Victims' kin move Bombay HC to quash acquittal of Pragya, 6 others

Families of 2008 Malegaon blast victims appeal Bombay HC to overturn acquittal of Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, Lt. Col. Purohit, and 5 others, calling it "wrong and bad in law."

"Calling the acquittal... as wrong and bad in law - Victims' Families' Appeal"

Mumbai, Sep 9

Calling the acquittal in the 2008 Malegaon blast case as “wrong and bad in law”, six family members of the explosion’s victims have appealed to the Bombay High Court to reverse the Special NIA court's decision to set free all the seven accused, a lawyer said on Tuesday.

Seeking proceedings against former MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and others, the appeal, filed by Nisar Ahmed Sayyed Bilal and five others through advocate Mateen Shaikh on Monday, sought the quashing of the July 31 judgment of Special NIA Judge A.K. Lahoti.

Dismissing the investigators’ theory of “Saffron or Hindu terror”, the Special NIA court had given the benefit of the doubt to the accused while acquitting all seven of them, including Pragya Thakur, Lt. Col. Shrikant Purohit, Major (Retd) Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni.

The explosion killed six people on September 29, 2008, and injured 101 in Malegaon, a communally sensitive town in Maharashtra, when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle detonated near a mosque during the holy month of Ramzan.

Earlier, soon after her acquittal, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur claimed that she was tortured for refusing to spread false information during the investigation.

She slammed the investigative process, alleging custodial torture, coercion, and politically motivated targeting by senior police officials.

The appeal filed in the High Court against the acquittal comes at a time when the NIA is believed to be studying the acquittal order to take a call on the need or timing of an appeal against the verdict.

An NIA spokesperson said last month that the probe agency was still going through the judgment and had yet to take a call on filing an appeal against the verdict.

Another official of the probe agency claimed that, currently, legal opinion is being taken at the branch-level and subsequently a decision will be taken on the future course of action.

He explained that whenever a court order is delivered in a case, it goes to the CIO (Chief Investigating Officer) and then a legal opinion is taken to decide whether to file an appeal or not.

He also hinted that, normally, a decision on filing a review petition is to be taken in 30 days, but the time limit for filing an appeal can be extended up to 90 days.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
The court has spoken after examining all evidence. Why are we questioning judicial decisions now? If there was no proof, acquittal is the right outcome. We should trust our judiciary system.
R
Rahul R
This case shows how investigations can be manipulated for political gains. Both sides suffer - the accused who faced torture and the victims who await justice. System needs complete overhaul.
S
Sarah B
As an observer, I find it concerning how terrorism cases become political footballs in India. The real victims are ordinary citizens who just want safety and justice, not political drama.
A
Arjun K
The timing of this appeal is suspicious. If the NIA itself hasn't decided to appeal yet, why are private petitions being filed? Seems like someone wants to keep this issue alive for political mileage.
M
Meera T
My heart goes out to the families. Losing loved ones in such violence and then seeing accused walk free must be devastating. Hope HC gives them a fair hearing and proper justice is served. 🕊️

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