2008 Malegaon Blast Case: Mumbai NIA Court Acquits Sadhvi Pragya, 6 Others

2008 Malegaon Blast Case

Mumbai’s Special NIA Court on Thursday acquitted all 7 accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts, ruling that the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.

The court also directed the Maharashtra government to provide compensation of Rs.2 lakh to the victims’ families and Rs.50,000 to those injured in the incident.

Accused & Charges

The accused in the case included former MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhankar Dhar Dwivedi (Shankaracharya), and Sameer Kulkarni. The court stated, “All bail bonds of the accused are cancelled and sureties are discharged.”

They were charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Arms Act, and other related offenses.

Evidence & Court Findings

Judge Abhay Lohati, while delivering the verdict, noted that although the prosecution successfully established that a blast occurred in Malegaon, it failed to prove that the explosive device was placed on the motorcycle linked to the accused.

The court scrutinized 323 prosecution witnesses and 8 defence witnesses before arriving at its decision.

Significantly, the court pointed out discrepancies in medical certificates, stating, “The court has come to a conclusion that injured people were not 101 but 95 only, and there was manipulation in some medical certificates.”

It also highlighted investigative lapses, such as the absence of a spot sketch during the panchnama (official crime scene report), lack of fingerprint or digital data from the site, and contamination of samples that rendered the forensic reports inconclusive.

Furthermore, no evidence was found regarding the storage or assembly of explosives at the residence of Prasad Purohit, another accused in the case.

Regarding the alleged involvement of the organization Abhinav Bharat, the court found no proof that its funds were used to carry out terror activities.

Background

On September 29, 2008, a motorcycle bomb exploded near a mosque in Malegaon’s Bhikku Chowk, killing six people and injuring 95 others. Initially, 11 individuals were accused; however, charges were formally framed against seven.