The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Maharashtra government and the NIA on a plea of Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit challenging prosecution sanction for his trial under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in the 2008 Malegaon blast.
A bench of Justices R K Agrawal and A M Sapre sought the reply of the state government and the NIA within four weeks.
Purohit has also sought a stay on the trial in the case.
The Bombay High Court had on December 18 last year dismissed Purohit's plea along with that of Sameer Kulkarni, both accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
Purohit had contended that in his case, the sanction was given in January 2009 but the authority was appointed only in October 2010. Both Purohit and Kulkarni are out on bail in the case.
Six persons were killed and 101 injured when an improvised explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off at Malegaon, a town with the sizable Muslim population in north Maharashtra's Nashik district, on September 29, 2008.
