This Article is From Apr 15, 2015

Supreme Court Paves Way for Bail for Most of the Accused in 2008 Malegaon Blasts Case

Supreme Court Paves Way for Bail for Most of the Accused in 2008 Malegaon Blasts Case

The court said that there is no evidence that six of the seven accused, including Shrikant Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya Singh, should be charged under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act or MCOCA.

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Wednesday paved the way for bail and dropping of charges under a stringent law for the accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts, in which seven people were killed.

The court said that there is no evidence that six of the seven accused, including Shrikant Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya Singh, should be charged under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act or MCOCA, which makes it very tough for them to get bail.

Therefore a trial court must hear the bail applications of the accused within a month and decide whether they should be charged under MCOCA, said the Supreme Court.

The court has however not included one of the seven people accused, Rakesh Dhawade, in this ruling, and he will remain charged under MCOCA.

 "There is considerable doubt about their involvement," the court observed in its ruling on the bail application of Col. Purohit and others. The top court said it has no information that these accused had any connection with earlier blasts in Parbhani and Jalna, in 2003 and 2004, respectively, in Maharashtra. If they did have a connection, then along with being accused in the 2008 blast, the accused would be liable to be charged under the extremely severe MCOCA.

The National Investigation Agency, or NIA, is investigating the case.

Col. Purohit has been in jail for more than six years and his lawyer argued that no charge sheet had been filed by the NIA. As a result, his lawyer said, the trial would take several years. "It's a partial relief for Purohit," said Neela Gokhale, the lawyer for Col Purohit.  Aparna Purohit, the army officer's wife who was in court when the judgement was delivered, said her prayers have been partially answered. "Now there is another legal battle as I have to wait for trial court bail, but the trial has been speeded up,'' she said.

Col. Purohit was arrested in November 2008 for murder and conspiracy in the terror attack in the communally-sensitive town of Malegaon. A bomb placed on a motorcycle exploded after Friday prayers had ended at a mosque.
 

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