JOIN USLt Col Purohit would be re-attached to his unit in the Southern Command but would continue to be suspended and remain under “open arrest” till he is acquitted by the court.
Under the “open arrest” category, his movement would be restricted within a cantonment. He would have to be in uniform most of the times and he would not be allowed to participate in any public function or entertainment activities in the cantonment, a source
said. He will have to exercise within stipulated confines and any relaxation on the curbs would be taken by the Commanding Officer.
Army officials said they would be reviewing the Supreme Court order before deciding on Lt Col Purohit’s future. Lt Col Purohit was suspended from service under Paragraph-349 of the Defence Service Regulations that says an officer arrested by the civil authorities on a criminal charge may be suspended from duty from the date of his arrest, depending upon the nature of the offence and the extent of his involvement.
Initially, Lt Col Purohit was receiving only 25% of his salary. Later he approached the Armed Forces Tribunal, which asked the army to release 75% of his salary.
Though he was in jail for nine years, the NIA could not frame charges against him. In 2011, the NIA took over the investigation from the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, which investigated the case in the initial years.
A special MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act) court earlier ruled that the ATS had wrongly applied the law against Lt Col Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya and nine other accused in the Malegaon blast case.
The explosion in Malegaon killed seven and injured over 100. Last year, he wrote to the then defence minister Manohar Parrikar, claiming he had been falsely implicated in the case. “I have been robbed of honour, dignity and rank and punished for serving the nation,” the letter read.
Subsequently, Parrikar asked the army to provide all relevant documents to the suspended officer that he sought for his legal battle.
DH News Service