MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing on an appeal against the acquittal of seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case due to incomplete details submitted about the appellant's family members of the victims.
The seven acquitted accused include former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit. Earlier, the HC had said it was "not an open gate for everyone" to file an appeal against acquittal in the case and sought details on whether the victims’ family members were examined as witnesses during the trial.
On Wednesday, the appellants’ lawyer submitted a chart of details, but the bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad said it was incomplete. The family members’ lawyer added that the first appellant, Nisar Ahmed, whose son died in the blast, was not a witness but was allowed to assist the prosecution during the trial. Out of the six appellants, only two were examined as prosecution witnesses.
“The chart is confusing. You need to verify it properly. Whether these persons were examined or not, that is the question. The chart is incomplete,” the court said, adjourning the hearing till Thursday.
The appeal was filed by family members of the six persons who lost their lives in the blast, challenging the special court’s July 31 judgment acquitting the seven accused. The petition contended that a faulty investigation or defects in the probe cannot justify acquittal, and that the conspiracy was hatched in secrecy, leaving no direct evidence.
The appeal criticised the trial court for acting as a “mere postman or mute spectator” and claimed the NIA had diluted allegations against the accused. The prosecution’s case stated that the blast, carried out by right-wing extremists, aimed to terrorise the Muslim community.
The NIA court had acquitted the accused, stating there was no “reliable and cogent evidence” to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. Besides Thakur and Purohit, the accused include Major Ramesh Upadhyay (retired), Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, and Sameer Kulkarni.