Bombay High Court has dismissed petitions challenging the sanction for prosecution against 2008 Malegaon blast accused Lt Col Shrikant Prasad Purohit and Sameer Kulkarni. The petitions filed by the accused had said that the state government has to seek a report from an appropriate authority as required under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
It claimed that the sanction for prosecution was given in January 2009 while the said authority was appointed only in October 2010 and hence the order stands vitiated. NIA counsel Sandesh Patil, however, questioned the maintainability of the petitions. He said that even the Supreme Court, while hearing Purohit’s bail plea had observed that the issue of sanction cannot be looked at this stage and can be considered by the trial court.
The high court accepted NIA’s arguments and dismissed the petitions. Six persons were killed and nearly 100 injured when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle exploded in Malegaon town in Nashik district of Maharashtra on September 29, 2008.