Malegaon blasts: SC asks HC to decide Purohit's plea expeditiously

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Bombay high court to decide expeditiously the plea of Lt Col Prasad Purohit, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.

Purohit had moved the high court stating that the sanction granted by the government to prosecute him in the case, was wrong in law.

A bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Justice Vikram Nath noted that as of now 246 witnesses have been examined.

“The petition filed by the petitioner is pending consideration before the high court where he has sought quashing of sanction. Keeping in view the facts and circumstances of the case, we deem it appropriate to request the high court to take the petition and decide the same expeditiously in accordance with the law,” the bench said.

On December 18, 2017, the high court refused to quash a government sanction that permitted Purohit's prosecution in the blast case.

Earlier, a special National Investigation Agency court had dismissed his plea to discharge him from the case.

A prior sanction for Purohit's prosecution was required since he was a serving Army officer at the time.

Six people were killed and over 100 injured after an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque at Malegaon in north Maharashtra, about 200 kilometres from Mumbai, on September 29, 2008.

All the seven accused in the case are currently out on bail.