Malegaon blast case: SC refuses Purohit's plea seeking SIT probe
What's the story
The Supreme Court today refused to entertain Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit's plea seeking a court-monitored probe by a Special Investigation Team into his alleged abduction, illegal detention, and brutal torture in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. A bench comprising Justices Ranjan Gogoi Naveen Sinha and KM Joseph said entertaining the petition at this stage might impact the ongoing trial in the case.
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Bench doesn't want to interfere in the ongoing case
The bench, however, granted Purohit the liberty to raise his contentions before the trial court and said it is not expressing any opinion on his petition. "Why should we interfere at this stage? It may impact the trial," the bench said.
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Bench asks Purohit to raise the issue before trial court
Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Purohit, told the bench that the issue raised by Purohit in his plea must be looked into. Since NIA is seized of the matter, the agency can look into it, Salve said. The bench asked him to raise the issue before the trial court. Purohit is currently out on bail, which was granted by the SC last year.
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The Malegaon blast story
Six persons were killed and over a 100 were injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon in Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008. Purohit and his co-accused are still facing charges under the UAPA and IPC provisions.