A-G denies pressure on ex-prosecutor in Malegaon blasts

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi on Monday denied before the Supreme Court that there was any pressure on former prosecutor to go soft on the accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case.

Appearing for the National Investigation Agency, the top law officer submitted, “I myself have examined the papers and there is no truth in the allegations.” He sought a week’s time from a bench of Justices J Chelameswar and Abhay Manohar Sapre to file a response to two petitions filed by bureaucrat-turned-activist Harsh Mander and Nisar Ahmed, a victim, alleging there was pressure on then special public prosecutor Rohini Salian by the NIA at the instance of political masters. 

The court posted the two petitions for consideration after two weeks. Both Mander and Ahmed 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, allegedly belonging to a right-wing organisation.