NIA to Check Out Malegaon Blast Ruling Before Deciding to Appeal
MUMBAI, Maharashtra, India – July 31, 2025: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said that they will look closely at the Special NIA Court’s ruling in the 2008 Malegaon blast case before they decide if they will appeal. This announcement comes after the Special NIA Court in Mumbai said on Thursday, July 31, 2025, that all seven people accused are not guilty, including ex-BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit. This is almost 17 years after the deadly blast.
Court Says There Wasn’t Enough Proof
Special Judge A.K. Lahoti gave the ruling, saying that the prosecution didn’t prove the case and that the accused deserved the benefit of the doubt. The court made it clear that a guilty verdict can’t be based just on suspicion or gut feeling and that solid, trustworthy proof is needed. Some main points were that there wasn’t hard proof that the motorcycle in the blast belonged to Pragya Thakur or that Lt. Col. Purohit gave them RDX. The court also said that the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) rules couldn’t be used because of bad approval orders.
About the 2008 Malegaon Blast
The blast happened on September 29, 2008, when a bomb on a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, which is in Maharashtra’s Nashik area. Six people died, and over 100 were hurt, mostly Muslims who were praying. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) first looked into the case. They arrested Thakur and Purohit and said that saffron extremists were involved. The NIA took over the case in 2011.
The Accused and What Happened When
The seven people on trial who were found not guilty are Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit, Major (Retd) Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sameer Kulkarni, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, and Sudhakar Dhar Dwivedi. The trial started in 2018 after they were charged under parts of the UAPA and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including accusations of murder and conspiracy. Over the years, many witnesses went back on their statements. At one point, the NIA even wanted to drop charges against some of the accused, like Thakur, in an added charge sheet in 2016, but the special court didn’t allow it.
Reactions and What’s Next
The ruling has caused strong reactions. AIMIM head Asaduddin Owaisi said the decision was disappointing, that the victims were targeted because of their religion, and that the outcome was because of a bad investigation/prosecution. Families of the victims also plan to fight the decision, with one saying, We will appeal to the Supreme Court for justice. The court has ordered that the families of the dead get Rs. 2 lakh, and the injured get Rs. 50,000. Everyone in law and politics will be watching what the NIA decides about an appeal.
