A National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Mumbai on Thursday acquitted all the seven, including former BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Colonel Prasad Purohit, in the 2008 Malegaon Blasts case.
The other accused who were acquitted by the NIA court are retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, and Sameer Kulkarni.
They were acquitted of all charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Arms Act, and other relevant laws. The judgement comes after a long trial in the case that spanned nearly 17 years.
After examining 323 prosecution witnesses and eight defence witnesses, the court reached its judgment that acquitted the accused of all charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act, and all other relevant laws.
The court also ordered Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) ADG to initiate a probe into the matter of planting explosives in the house of the accused Sudhakar Chaturvedi.
Delivering its verdict, the NIA court said that while the investigation proved that the blasts indeed occurred, the prosecution could not provide “cogent evidence” to prove the involvement of the accused.
“Terrorism has no religion because no religion can advocate violence. The court cannot convict anyone merely on perception and moral evidence; there has to be cogent evidence,” the court said while delivering the judgment.
The court mentioned in the verdict that the prosecution could not prove that explosives were stored and assembled at Colonel Purohit’s residence and placed in the motorcycle that allegedly belonged to Pragya Thakur.
“Prosecution proved that a blast occurred in Malegaon but failed to prove that the bomb was placed in that motorcycle,” news agency ANI quoted Judge Abhay Lohati as saying while pronouncing the verdict.
The court also questioned the flawed investigation and pointed out several discrepancies in the way the spot evidence was collected by the investigation officer.
“No sketch of the spot was done by the investigation officer while doing the panchnama. No fingerprint, dump data, or anything else was collected for the spot. The samples were contaminated, so reports can’t be conclusive and relied upon,” the court said.
The court also said that the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) could not be applied to the case as the sanction for prosecution was not obtained in accordance with the rules.
“The UAPA will not be invoked in this case, as a sanction was not taken as per the rules. Both the sanction orders of the UAPA in the case are defective,” the court stated in its order.
Moreover, the NIA court also found discrepancies in the list of the injured. “The court has come to the conclusion that the injured people were not 101 but 95 only, and there was manipulation. In some medical certificates,” the court said.
The court also gave a clean chit to Colonel Purohit’s ‘Abhinav Bharat’ organisation, saying there was no evidence that the funds of the outfit were used for terror activities.
“Abhinav Bharat organisation was used as a common reference by the prosecution. There is no evidence that the money of the Abhinav Bharat was used for terror activities,” it noted.
Blast victim’s to challenge verdict in High Court
Advocate Shahid Nadeem, representing the victims of the blast, said that they will challenge their acquittal in the High Court.
“The bomb blast has been proved by the court. We will challenge this acquittal in the High Court. We will file the appeal independently,” Advocate Nadeem said.
At least six people were killed, and 101 others sustained injuries after two bombs concealed in motorcycles exploded near a mosque in the Muslim-majority town of Malegaon in Maharashtra.
Initially, the police arrested several Muslim youths. However, the Mumbai Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) later claimed the blasts were part of a larger conspiracy by Hindutva extremist groups.
The ATS later arrested Pragya Thakur, Colonel Purohit, and other and charged them under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including Section 302 (murder), Section 120B (criminal conspiracy), and Section 295 (injuring or defiling places of worship), as well as under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Explosives Act.
Victory of Hindutva, says Pragya Thakur
Addressing the judge in the NIA court in Mumbai, Pragya Singh Thakur stated that she was falsely implicated in the case as part of a conspiracy to defame Bhagwa (the saffron colour of Hindutva).
“I said this from the very beginning that those who are called for investigation, there should be a basis behind that. I was called by them for investigation and was arrested and tortured. This ruined my whole life. I was living a sage’s life, but I was made an accused, and no one was willing to stand with us. I am alive because I am a Sanyasi. They defamed Bhagwa through a conspiracy,” she said.
The former BJP MP hailed the court’s verdict, saying those who defamed ‘Bhagwa’ have been proven wrong. “Today, Bhagwa has won, and Hindutva has won, and God will punish those who are guilty. However, those who defamed India and Bhagwa have been proven wrong by you,” she added.
Colonel Purohit thanks NIA court for restoring common man’s faith in the system
Reacting to the verdict, Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit thanked the court for restoring the faith of the common man in the system.
“I thank you for giving me a chance to serve my nation and my organisation with the same conviction that I was doing before I was framed in this matter. I don’t blame any organisation for all this. Organisations like investigating agencies are not wrong, but people inside the organisations are the ones who have done wrong. I thank you for restoring the faith of the common man in the system,” he said while addressing the judge.
Political reactions
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hailed the NIA court verdict in the 2008 Malegaon Blast case, saying the judgment has destroyed the Congress’ conspiracy of linking terrorism to Hindutva.
“Congress’ conspiracy of Hindu terror has been destroyed,” senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said during a press conference at party headquarters.
Welcoming the court’s verdict, Prasad said the entire case was a ‘Congress conspiracy for sheer vote bank politics’.
“Colonel Purohit, who fought against terrorism in Kashmir, was accused. Pragya Thakur was accused of using her motorcycle in the blast. She was tortured so much that she could not walk after that,” he said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the verdict has proved that “terrorism was never saffron, is not, and will never be!”
Also reacting to the verdict, UP CM Yogi Adityanath said that the judgment exposes the anti-India, anti-justice and anti-Sanatan character of the Congress.
“The acquittal of all accused in the Malegaon blast case is a living testament to the phrase ‘Satyamev Jayate’. The verdict once again exposes the anti-India, anti-justice and anti-Sanatan character of the Congress, which coined the false term ‘saffron terror’ and defamed crores of Sanatan believers, saints, and patriots,” CM Yogi said in a social media post on X.