Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has admitted an appeal filed by the families of victims of the 2008 Malegaon blasts and issued notices to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the seven accused who were acquitted by a special NIA court.

The blasts on September 29, 2008, near a mosque in Malegaon, Maharashtra’s Nashik district, left six people dead and over 100 injured. The case was initially investigated by the Maharashtra ATS before being handed over to the NIA in 2011.

A division bench of Justice AS Gadkari and Justice RR Bhosale heard the plea on Thursday and allowed it to proceed, stating the matter would be heard again after six weeks. The appeal, filed on September 9 by families of deceased victims, challenges the NIA court’s decision to acquit all accused, including BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit.

The appellants have alleged that the probe was compromised, claiming crucial evidence was ignored or mishandled, and that the NIA’s special prosecutor faced pressure to go slow in the matter. They argued that conspiracy cases often rely on circumstantial evidence, which the trial court failed to adequately consider.

In April this year, after 17 years of investigation and trial, the special NIA court acquitted all seven accused of charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act, and other serious offences. The court reviewed testimonies of 323 prosecution witnesses and eight defence witnesses before concluding that there was no reliable evidence to secure convictions.

The trial court had observed that while the blasts were proved, the prosecution failed to establish that the motorcycle used for planting the bomb was linked to the accused. It also noted lapses such as lack of site sketches, absence of fingerprint or forensic data, sample contamination, and manipulation of medical certificates. The court further found no evidence connecting Lt Col Purohit’s residence or the Abhinav Bharat organisation’s funds to terror activities.

With the High Court now admitting the appeal, the acquittal will face judicial scrutiny in the coming weeks.

With inputs from ANI