Advocate Shahid Nadeem, representing the families of the victims of the 2008 Malegaon blast, said on Thursday he will soon challenge the acquittal of the seven accused in the High Court.
“We will file an appeal independently,” the advocate told the media agency.
An NIA special court on Thursday acquitted all seven accused, including former MP Sadhvi Pragya, Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhankar Dhar Dwivedi (Shankaracharya) and Sameer Kulkarni. They were acquitted of all charges under the UAPA, Arms Act and other sections.
“It is sad that we were waiting for the judgment for 17 years. But this is not the victims’ fault that the acquittal happened; they just suffered. The victims had come from Malegaon to show their wounds, the court gave the benefit of the doubt because the agency had failed, the ATS and the government failed. The victims have no role in this,” Nadeem said.
Speaking about the verdict, the lawyer pointed out that the court has agreed that a blast occurred and has awarded compensation to the victims.
“The court said that the funds were not used for the bomb blast, but it has agreed that the bomb blast happened, while the other side had claimed that the blast had not happened at all,” he added.
Earlier on Thursday, Mumbai’s Special NIA Court acquitted all seven accused of involvement in the 2008 Malegaon blasts, saying the prosecution failed to establish the case beyond a reasonable doubt. The NIA Court also directed the Maharashtra government to provide Rs 2 lakh compensation to the families of the deceased and ₹50,000 to those injured.
A total of seven people, including former MP Sadhvi Pragya, Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhankar Dhar Dwivedi (Shankaracharya) and Sameer Kulkarni, have been acquitted.
The court examined 323 prosecution witnesses and eight defence witnesses before delivering the verdict. All seven were cleared of charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and other related sections.
“Prosecution proved that a blast occurred in Malegaon but failed to prove that a bomb was placed in that motorcycle,” Judge Abhay Lohati said.
On 29 September 2008, six people were killed and 95 others injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle detonated near a mosque at Bhikku Chowk in Malegaon city.
Originally, 11 people were accused in the case; however, the court ultimately framed charges against seven, including former MP Sadhvi Pragya.
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