Malegaon Blast Case: NIA Court Acquits All Seven Accused Including Sadhvi Pragya and Col Purohit
Mumbai/Pune, 31st July 2025: In a significant verdict, the Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court in Mumbai has acquitted all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, including BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Army officer Colonel Prasad Purohit, citing lack of concrete evidence.
The verdict, delivered by Judge A.K. Lahoti after nearly 17 years of legal proceedings, stated that the prosecution failed to establish the accused’s involvement in the September 29, 2008 blast that killed six people and injured around 100 others in Malegaon, a communally sensitive town in Maharashtra’s Nashik district.
The seven individuals who stood trial were Colonel Prasad Purohit, Ramesh Upadhyay, Sameer Kulkarni, all residents of Pune; Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, and Sudhakar Dhar Dwivedi.
Judge Lahoti observed that while the blast itself was undeniable, the investigative agencies could not prove key aspects of the case. “It has not been proved that the bomb was planted in the motorcycle,” the court noted, adding that even the ownership of the motorcycle—allegedly linked to Sadhvi Pragya—could not be confirmed due to the absence of the vehicle’s chassis number.
Colonel Purohit, accused of assembling the explosive device, was also acquitted as the court found the evidence against him to be inconclusive. “No solid proof has been submitted to show he made the bomb,” the judge remarked.
The verdict emphasized that justice must be based on solid evidence rather than perceptions or moral judgments. “Terrorism has no religion. No religion teaches violence, and courts cannot pass verdicts based on assumptions or media narratives,” the court stated. It also highlighted investigative lapses, including irregularities in the Panchnama, missing fingerprints from the blast site, and tampered medical certificates.
Initially investigated by Maharashtra ATS, the case was transferred to the NIA in 2011. The NIA filed its chargesheet in 2016. Over the course of the trial, the case saw the involvement of three different investigating agencies and four judges.
The judgment, originally scheduled for May 8 this year, was deferred and finally pronounced on July 31, bringing closure to a case that has long been at the center of political and legal controversy.
