SC grants relief to Sadhvi Pragya and Col. Purohit

The Supreme Court has granted huge relief to Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Col. Srikant Purohit in connection with the 2008 Malegaon blast case. The apex court bench headed by Justice Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Kalifulla asked the trial court to consider their bail plea within a month without invoking the provisions of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). There is no prima facie evidence against the accused, says SC.

The apex court, has however, ruled that MCOCA provisions will apply on accused Rakesh Dattatreya Dhawade, who allegedly helped procure weapons. The SC made it clear that there was no material connecting Malegaon blast accused with Parbhani and Jalna bomb blast cases. The verdict came as a relief for Sadhvi Pragya, Col. Purohit and other accused – Ramesh Upadhyay, Shyamlal Sahu, Shivnarain Kalsangra, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Jagdish Mhatre and Sameer Kulkarni.

Sadhvi Pragya Singh is an accused in the September 29, 2008, blast at Malegaon in Nashik district in which six persons died and several others injured. She is also an accused in the murder of  Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker Sunil Joshi.