Mumbai: The families of the victims of the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast have approached the Bombay High Court challenging the acquittal of all seven accused, including Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Col. Prasad Purohit.
On July 31, a special NIA court had acquitted all seven accused observing that the prosecution failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt.
About The Appeal
The appeal filed through advocate Mateen Shaikh, seeks to set aside the acquittals of all the accused persons. It has also sought re-examination of key witnesses and missing evidence, which the victims allege were deliberately excluded or suppressed by a compromised prosecution.
The appeal will come up for hearing before a bench headed by Justice Ajey Gadkari.
About The Case
On September 29, 2008, a bomb planted on a motorcycle went off in Malegaon, killing six persons and injuring 101. The Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad had later arrested 11 persons for their alleged roles in the blasts. However a decade later only seven were put to trial and others were discharged. s
The case was initially probed by the Anti Terrorism Squad. In 2011, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the investigation.
The trial in the case was concluded in July 2024, with the prosecution presenting testimony from 323 witnesses and submitting approximately 9,997 documents and 404 articles as evidence during the trial. Out of the 323 witnesses, 34 did not support the prosecution’s case and were declared hostile.
Till date, the Maharashtra government has not challenged the acquittals before the high court.
