After approaching the Bombay High Court went in vain, the father of a victim of the 2008 Malegaon blast has now filed a writ petition before the apex court to extend the tenure of special judge VS Padalkar who is due to retire on Saturday.
The petition by Nisar Ahmed Bilal, whose son Sayyed Azhar Nisar Ahmed was killed in the blast that took place on 29 September, 2008, states that after judge VS Padalkar took charge, the charges have been framed in the case in October 2018 and, thereafter, 140 witnesses have been examined in a span of one year and four months.
The petition filed by Adv Shahid Nadeem through Jamiat Ulema I Hind sought to invoke the extraordinary jurisdiction of the court under Section 32 of the constitution (right to move Supreme Court or High Court to get his/her fundamental rights protected). It claimed that his right to a speedy trial would be violated as the retirement of judge Padalkar would delay the trial, as he is fully conversant with the records of the case.
It mentioned that the petitioner had approached the Bombay HC on Feb 1, 2020, requesting for the same, but there was no development. “Any new incumbent who has (sic) posted would take further time to come to grips of (sic) of the record of the case which runs into thousands and thousands of pages,” the petition said, adding that the case has a ‘chequered history’.
The petition prayed for judge Padalkar’s term to be extended for appropriate duration so that the trial can be completed in an expeditious manner. It said this would be in the interests of justice as the case is pending for last 12 years and it was after a long delay of 10 years that the charges were framed.
