Mumbai: One of the seven persons acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, Sameer Kulkarni, has opposed the appeal filed by the family members of the victims seeking to overturn their acquittals.
In his reply affidavit before the Bombay High Court, Kulkarni contended that the grounds raised in the appeal are “untrue, invalid, unclear, irrelevant, unfounded, unreliable, incomprehensible, baseless, illegal.”
He has sought dismissal of the appeal “with heavy cost” so that “a completely innocent Indian citizen who has been an unjust victim for 17 years can live happily for the remaining short period of his life.”
Victims’ Families Challenge Acquittal of All Seven Accused
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The appeal, filed by families of six persons killed in the September 29, 2008 blast near a mosque in Malegaon, challenges the special NIA court’s July 31, 2024 order acquitting all seven accused, including BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit.
The trial court had held that there was no “reliable and cogent evidence” to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt. After his acquittal, Purohit was promoted to the rank of Colonel.
Till date, NIA, which probed the case, has not filed an appeal against the special court’s acquittal verdict.
HC Notes Service of Notices; Two Respondents to Be Served Through ATS
Last month, a division bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad issued notices to the acquitted persons and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) while hearing the victims’ appeal.
During Thursday’s hearing, the court noted that all respondents had been served through counsel except respondents six and seven – Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sudhakar Dwivedi – who will now be served through the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) within two weeks.
Kulkarni Seeks to Argue in Marathi; Rejects Grounds of Appeal
Kulkarni, who argued his own case before the trial court, told the bench that he wished to do so again before the High Court. “Engaging an advocate will cause delay,” he said, adding that he wanted to argue “fearlessly, politely, fairly and without undue hindrance in my mother tongue (Marathi)”.
Kulkarni’s affidavit alleges that the appeal was filed only to “waste the valuable time of the Hon’ble Court and innocent Indians”. He claimed that both the original and supplementary charge sheets filed by the NIA were “illegal” and that no appeal had been filed earlier against the nullification of MCOCA provisions in the case.
Also Watch:
HC Begins Document Compilation for Appeal Hearing
The HC has directed that efforts be taken by the parties, with assistance from the registry and the NIA, to compile relevant documents for the hearing of the appeal.
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