Mumbai: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the trial in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi has refused to hear the plea filed by Lt Col Purohit, challenging his prosecution under the provision of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).Initially, Purohit had moved the Bombay High Court challenging the sanction by Maharashtra government to prosecute him under the anti-terror law. The High Court had, however, refused to hear the plea and instead asked the special court to decide his application challenging the sanction.
Accordingly, the special court considered the application and concluded that this issue could be decided at the time of trial.
Aggrieved with this order, Purohit challenged the same in the High Court before a division bench led by Justice Sambhaji Shinde. The bench, however, refused to stay the trial and said it will hear the same after Diwali vacations.
Now, before the top court, Purohit had challenged the trial court’s order and sought a stay on the proceedings. He had also challenged the charges framed against him.The apex court, having been petitioned, refused to stay the trial and instead requested the Bombay High Court to deal with Purohit’s challenge on November 21. The High Court has also been requested to decide Purohit’s petition “at the earliest”.Meanwhile, the special court on Monday directed the registry to hand over a copy of the photographs and videos of the Malegaon blast incident to Purohit.
