SC judge recuses from Malegaon blasts PIL

Supreme Court judge Justice U U Lalit on Friday recused from hearing a petition filed by bureaucrat-turned-activist Harsh Mander seeking direction to ensure a fair trial in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case.

He had accused the NDA government of trying to interfere with the functioning of the public prosecutor in the case by pressurising her “to go soft” on the accused.

As the PIL came up for hearing before a bench presided over by Justice F M I Kalifullah, Justice Lalit, the other judge in the bench, said since he had represented certain accused in the matter, he would prefer not to hear it.

The bench then directed the registry to place the matter before Chief Justice H L Dattu for assigning it to another bench. The bench decided not to take up the matter despite Mander's counsel senior advocate Indira Jaising contending that she had no objection if the same bench heard it.

The bench, however, declined the plea. The PIL stated that National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials had pressured Rohini Salian, former special public prosecutor, “to go soft on the accused presumably under instructions from their political masters.”

He sought direction to appoint an advocate of eminence as prosecutor and set up an SIT to probe NIA officials who pressured Salian.

The Malegaon blast, on September 29, 2008, claimed four lives and injured 79 while another blast at the same time in Modasa in Gujarat killed one.

A group of Muslim youths were initially arrested as accused in the case but the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad investigation led by Hemant Karkare concluded that the blasts was the handiwork of Hindu extremist organisations.

Twelve people were arrested in the case, including Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit. Of the 12, four are out on bail.