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2008 Malegaon Blast Case: 'Not An Open Gate For Everyone To File Appeal Against Acquittal,' Says Bombay HC

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court remarked on Tuesday that it was "not an open gate for everyone" to file an appeal against acquittal, and sought details whether the family members of the victims of the Malegaon 2008 blasts victims were examined as witnesses during the trial. About The Observation A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad made the observation while hearing an appeal filed by the family members of the six persons who lost their lives in the blast against challenging the acquittals of seven accused in the case. The appeal, filed through advocate Mateen Shaikh, assails the special NIA court's July 31 verdict acquitting all the seven accused in the case, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit. On Tuesday, the HC sought to know if the family members were examined as witnesses in the trial. The advocate for the family members told the court that the first appellant, Nisar Ahmed, whose son died in the blast, was not a witness in the trial. However, the advocate said he would submit the details of all the six appellants on Wednesday. The bench then said if the appellant's son died in the blast, then he (Nisar Ahmed) should have been a witness. "You (appellants) have to indicate whether they were witnesses or not. Give us details. This is not an open gate for everyone," HC said. The court has scheduled the matter for further hearing on Wednesday. The appeal was filed last week assailing the special court's verdict claiming that faulty investigation or some defects in the probe cannot be the ground for acquitting the accused. Moreover, it states that a conspiracy is hatched in secrecy, and hence, there cannot be direct evidence of it. Seeking quashing of the special court order, the appeal claims that the same was wrong and bad in law. On September 29, 2008, an explosive strapped to a motorcycle detonated near a mosque in Malegaon, killing six people and injuring 101. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) initially arrested 11 persons. A decade later, only seven faced trial, while others were discharged. The NIA took over the probe in 2011. On July 31, special judge AK Lahoti acquitted all seven accused observing that there was no "reliable and cogent evidence" against the accused that proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt. During the trial, the prosecution produced 323 witnesses, 9,997 documents and 404 articles. However, 34 witnesses turned hostile. The families, however, contended that the trial court wrongly acted as a "post office" and failed to test the prosecution's case against missing or hostile evidence. "The trial court has unfortunately acted as a mere post office and allowed a deficient prosecution to benefit the accused," the petition states. The appeal claims that faulty investigation or procedural defects should not have resulted in acquittals, especially in a terror case. It also alleges that the NIA deliberately diluted the case. The petition points to former special prosecutor Rohini Salian's public statement that she was pressured to go slow against the accused. Her replacement, the petition claims, lacked experience in terror trials. "The lacuna of the investigating agency could have been checked by the learned judge, by exercising both the power and corollary duty under Section 165 of the Evidence Act," the petition adds. The families also allege political interference in the case. "The NIA was introduced only to weaken the case and give benefit to accused persons," the appeal claims, stressing that no blasts targeting minorities occurred after the ATS arrests in 2008. The appeal has urged the high court to quash the acquittal order and convict the accused.

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