NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court on Monday requested the Bombay High Court to expeditiously hear the petition filed by Lt Col Prasad Purohit, who sought to quash sanction granted to prosecute him in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
A bench comprising Justices Hemant Gupta and Vikram Nath requested the high court to take up Purohit’s writ petition and decide the same expeditiously in accordance with law.
The top court, in its order, said: “Keeping in view the facts and circumstances of the case, we deem it appropriate to request the high court to take up the said writ petition and decide the same expeditiously in accordance with law. The writ petition is disposed of in above terms. Pending application(s), if any, also stand disposed of.”
It noted that the writ petition filed by the petitioner is pending consideration before the high court wherein the petitioner has sought quashing of the sanction under Section 197(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
Purohit had moved the high court claiming the sanction granted by the government to prosecute him in the case, was wrong in law. The high court, in December 2017, declined to quash a government sanction that permitted Purohit’s prosecution in the blast case. Purohit’s plea seeking discharge from the case was also dismissed by a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court.
Six people were killed and over 100 injured after an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque at Malegaon, Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008. All the seven accused in the case are currently out on bail. -IANS
