The special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has given its verdict after 17 years in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case. The special judge has acquitted all the seven accused, including former BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit and retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay, due to lack of sufficient evidence.
The court made it clear in its decision that the prosecution failed to prove that the explosives were in the motorcycle. The court mentioned several serious flaws in the investigation process, including not collecting fingerprints from the scene of the incident, not getting the chassis number of the motorcycle and not proving that the vehicle was registered in the name of Sadhvi Pragya.
The special court also highlighted discrepancies in the charge sheets of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the NIA. The court also noted that the panchnama was not done properly after the blast, which affected the collection of evidence.
The blast in Malegaon, Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008, killed six people and injured over 100. The initial investigation was conducted by the Maharashtra ATS, which was transferred to the NIA in 2011. The trial, which lasted over a decade, saw 323 witnesses examined, of whom 34 turned hostile.
All seven accused were charged under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code. After the final hearing concluded on 19 April 2025, the court reserved its decision.
