The Bombay High Court on Monday admitted a petition filed by two accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh and Sameer Kulkarni seeking discharge from the 2008 Malegaon blasts case. The development came five weeks after it admitted a plea filed by the 2008 Malegaon blast case accused lieutenant Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit, challenging earlier court verdicts rejecting his pleas for discharge from the case.
After Advocate Prashnt Maggu made a strong case in favour of his clients Pragya and Kulkarni, a HC bench of Ranjit More and Anuja Prabhu Desai admitted the discharge pleas of the 2008 Malegaon blasts accused.
Maggu told the court that a special court had earlier erred in rejecting the discharge pleas. He said that the NIA, the prosecuting agency in the case, had granted a clean chit to Thakur in its charge sheet.
Maggu also argued before the HC bench that during the hearing on a bail plea filed by Thakur in the high court last year, the NIA had even told the HC on record that it had no objections to Thakur being discharged from the case.
The HC bench scheduled the case for August 13.
It may be recalled that an improvised explosive kept under the seat of a lMl Freedom motor-bicycle had exploded between Bhikku Chowk and Anjuman Chowk, near Noorani Masjid on the night of September 29, 2008, leaving six persons dead and injuring 101 others.
On June 22, 2018, the High Court had admitted a petition filed by Col Purohit, challenging earlier court verdicts rejecting his pleas for discharge from the case. Earlier on December 27, 2017, a special National Investigating Agency (NIA) court had dropped charges under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, lt Col Prasad Purohit and five other key accused in the much-discussed case.
However, Additional Sessions Judge SD Tekale had rejected the applications of key accused Sadhvi Pragya, lt Col Purohit, Sameer Kulkarni, Ramesh Upadhyay and Sudhakar Dwivedi for discharge from the case. The seven accused against whom MOCCA charges were dropped, but continue to face charges under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) are: Sadhvi Pragya, Col Purohit, Dwivedi, Major (Retd) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sameer Kulkarni, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Ajay Rahirkar.
