The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday informed the Supreme Court that there was no need to keep persons accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case in police custody as a charge sheet has been filed in the case.
The NIA submitted before a Bench of Justices R.K. Agrawal and A.M. Sapre that arguments on framing of charges were on in the court and there was no requirement for the continued custody of the accused persons. The Bench adjourned the case for further hearing.
The accused, Lt. Col. Shrikant Purohit and Sudhakar Dhar Dwivedi, had earlier moved the Supreme Court against their prolonged detention without a charge sheet in the case. They had applied for bail.
The Supreme Court had earlier directed the special court in Maharashtra to expedite the hearing and decide on the bail pleas of the accused, Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur.
The court had said that, barring accused Rakesh D. Dhawade, who is alleged to be involved in other similar cases in Parbhani and Jalna before the Malegaon blast, the provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA) cannot be considered while dealing with the bail applications of the other accused persons.
Seven people were killed in the blast on September 29, 2008, at Malegaon, a communally-sensitive textile town of Nasik district in north Maharashtra.
The NIA has recommended prosecution against Ramesh Shivaji Upadhyay, Sameer Sharad Kulkarni, Ajay Rahirkar, Rakesh Dhawde, Jagdish Chintaman Mahatre, Prasad Shrikant Puruhit, Sudhakar Dhar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Ramchandra Kalsangra (wanted) and Sandeep Dange (wanted) under the Indian Penal Code, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Arms Act and the Explosives Substances Act.
