A special NIA court on Monday acquitted former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and six others in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
The court cited insufficient evidence. Delivering the verdict, the judge stated, “The prosecution has failed to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt. There might be strong suspicion against the accused, but suspicion alone is not enough to punish them.”
The court had reserved its judgment on April 19, after completing hearings and final arguments from both the prosecution and the defence.
The court stated that the hearing concluded in April, but given the voluminous nature of the case — comprising over one lakh pages of evidence and documentation — additional time is required to go through all records before pronouncing the verdict.
Victims to move Bombay HC
The victims have expressed deep disappointment with the verdict and announced their intention to challenge it in the Bombay High Court.
Blast survivor Ansari Ahmad from Malegaon said, “It was the month of Ramzan when the blast occurred. Everyone knows lives were lost. Even the court acknowledged this by awarding Rs 2 lakh compensation to the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured. But this verdict has deeply pained us. We will definitely challenge it in the High Court.”
Another resident, Qayyum Qasmi, echoed the sentiment, saying the judgment has left Malegaon in grief.
“This verdict has weakened our trust in the court. We plan to approach the High Court, the Supreme Court, and also the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind. In many past cases, accused have been acquitted due to lack of evidence. We believe the government influenced this verdict. Justice must be served,” he said.
Shahid Nadeem, a lawyer representing some of the victims, said that although the court acquitted the accused, it did so by giving them the benefit of the doubt, not through a clear exoneration.
“This is not a clean acquittal. The court acknowledged that the blast happened, yet the accused were let go. We are going to appeal this decision in the Bombay High Court,” he said.
Pragya Thakur, six others faced trial
A total of seven individuals were facing trial in the case, including Lt Col Prasad Purohit, former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur, Sameer Kulkarni, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi and Sudhakar Chaturvedi and retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay.
They were charged under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). All accused are currently out on bail.
Don’t associate terrorism with religion: Digvijay Singh
Terrorism should not be associated with any religion and no faith advocates violence, senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh said soon after the special NIA court acquitted all seven accused. “Extremists are individuals who distort religion to spread hatred. Neither can a Hindu be a terrorist, nor a Muslim, Sikh or Christian,” the Rajya Sabha MP said.
He dismissed allegations by BJP leaders that the Congress had coined the term “Hindu terrorism” for political gain. “The BJP is absolutely wrong in saying that the term ‘Hindu terror’ was coined by the Congress,” Singh said.
Malegaon blast case
The blast occurred on September 29, 2008, in Malegaon, a communally sensitive town in Maharashtra, during the holy month of Ramzan and just ahead of Navratri. The explosion claimed six lives and left over 100 people injured.
Over the course of a decade-long trial, the prosecution examined 323 witnesses, 34 of whom turned hostile.
Initially, the case was investigated by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). However, in 2011, the probe was handed over to the NIA.
In 2016, the NIA submitted a charge sheet that cleared Pragya Singh Thakur and several other accused, citing insufficient evidence. The verdict, issued almost 17 years after the incident, is highly anticipated and is likely to have important legal and political consequences.
With inputs from agencies
