2008 Malegaon Blast Case: All 7 Accused Acquitted After 17-Year Trial

After nearly 17 years of a protracted trial, a special court in Mumbai on Thursday acquitted all the 7 accused in the infamous 2008 Malegaon Bomb Blast case, which shook the Malegaon town in September 2008 killing over half a dozen people and leaving at least 100 injured.

Special Judge AK Lahoti observed, "Terrorism has no religion as no religion advocates violence... Judgments cannot be based on morals and public perception."

The judgment in this case was reserved on April 19, 2025, after the trial was commenced in the year 2018. The trial in this case, which has major political overtones, was conducted against seven accused including former BJP MP Pragya Thakur, Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit, Major (retd.) Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni.

Lack of Evidence Against Accused

The Court said prosecution failed to prove that the bike which exploded belonged to Pragya Thakur. "She became a Sadhvi at least 2 years before the blast... no cogent material against her or any other accused," the Court said. About planting of RDX at co-accused Col. Purohit's residence, the Court said there is no material on record about the storage of explosives. "Sketch of the room not made... Samples were contaminated," it said.

The Court further said there is no evidence to the effect that Abhinav Bharat, an organisation founded by Pragya Thakur and Col. Purohit, used its funds for terror activities.

Details of the Blast Incident

The blast took place on September 29, 2008 with an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle was exploded near a mosque in the town, located about 200 km from Mumbai. The case was initially investigated by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) under slain cop Hemant Karkare. It had filed a chargesheet in January 2009 against all the 12 accused including Thakur and Purohit, who were arrested months after the blast. However, the case was taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2011, which filed its supplementary chargesheet on May 13, 2016.

ATS Version of Events

The ATS version alleged that Thakur and Purohit, the founder of Abhinav Bharat, a right wing organisation, along with other accused, hatched a conspiracy to take 'revenge' and 'terrorise' the Muslim community. It further stated that there were several 'conspiracy meetings' that took place in Bhopal, Indore and other places. According to the ATS, Thakur had provided a motorcycle, which was used for executing the blast. The said motorcycle, the ATS said was registered in Thakur's name. In its chargesheet, the ATS had levelled several charges including the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) against all the accused.

NIA’s Contradictory Stance

The NIA from 2011 till 2016 had been opposing Thakur for any relief she sought, however, in a complete 'about turn' the anti terrorism agency dropped all the charges against her in its 'supplementary chargesheet.' It however, maintained the version of the ATS as against other accused and chargesheeted them under several stringent acts including the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Explosive Substances Act. Contrary to the ATS, the chargesheet of NIA stated that it could not find any crucial evidence against Thakur and instead accused the ATS of 'torturing' witnesses to record their statements against her. The agency had also recommended to drop off the charges of MCOCA against all the 12 accused.

It would not be out of place to mention that the NIA had filed its chargesheet in a dramatic manner, without informing its designated Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Avinash Rasal. However, the special court had refused to discharge Thakur despite the NIA giving her a clean chit. It had held that it cannot neglect the incriminating material adduced against her by the ATS. Notably, this case has been in the news for several controversies. The special public prosecutor prior to Rasal was Rohini Salian, who was abruptly dropped after she alleged that the NIA asked her to 'go soft' against the right-wing leaders booked in the case.