Lt Col Purohit, main accused in 2008 Malegaon blast case, granted bail after 9 years in jail
OUR CORRESPONDENT
The Supreme Court today granted ‘interim bail’ to Lt Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit, the main accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case which killed seven people.
Last week, Purohit, in his application for bail, had told the court that he was in jail for the last nine years and was entitled to be granted bail.
Granting bail to Purohit, the the bench of Justice R.K.Agrawal and Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre said, “In our considered opinion, there are material contradictions in the charge sheets filed by the ATS Mumbai and the NIA which are required to be tested at the time of trial and this Court cannot pick or choose one version over the other.”
Saying that the grant or refusal of bail was within the discretion of the court, Justice Agrawal speaking for the bench said, “The grant or denial is regulated, to a large extent, by the facts and circumstances of each particular case. But at the same time, right to bail is not to be denied merely because of the sentiments of the community against the accused”.
Denying his involvement in the incident, Purohit told the court that even assuming that the charges that he had supplied the bomb were true, even then he would have to be out of jail as the offence attracted a maximum of seven years imprisonment.
Appearing for the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh opposed the bail plea, saying there was evidence of his involvement in the Malegaon blast.
At least seven persons were killed and nearly 100 injured when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle exploded in Malegaon in Nashik district on September 29, 2008.
On April 25 this year, the Bombay High Court granted bail to another accused in the case, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur.
Purohit has challenged the April 25 Bombay High Court order which granted bail to another accused, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur but rejected his plea.
Both Pragya and Purohit were arrested in 2008. Sadhvi, who is suffering from cancer, is undergoing treatment at a Madhya Pradesh hospital.
Nisar Ahmed Haji Sayed Bilal, father of one of the blast victims, had challenged the Bombay High Court order granting bail to Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur alleging that she was a “powerful person” and could influence the witnesses in the case.
He has sought a stay on the high court’s April 25 order granting her bail, saying there was “no prima facie evidence against her”.
The Supreme Court had on July 28 sought Maharashtra government’s reply on the plea seeking cancellation of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur’s bail.
The National Investigation Agency or NIA had filed its reply in Lt Col Purohit’s case, saying there was ample evidence against him, but no evidence against Sadhvi Pragya Thakur.
The Apex Court had on May 5 also sought a response from the NIA and the Maharashtra government on the plea of Lt Col Purohit seeking bail.
A special MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act) court had earlier ruled that the Anti-Terrorist Squad had wrongly applied this law against Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, Lt Col Purohit and nine others.