Malegaon blast case: Bailable warrant against magistrate for non-appearnce

The special court hearing the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case issued a bailable warrant against an executive magistrate posted at Malegaon for failing to appear before it on Thursday.

The special court was scheduled to record the testimony of the magistrate, who was a part of the process of giving compensation to the victims of the blast. The special public prosecutor Avinash Rasal and the investigation officer informed the court that the magistrate was not reachable and they could not produce him in court.

The prosecution also told the court that summons had been served to the magistrate and he had assured he would appear before the court. However, they said his phone was constantly not reachable. Following this, the court issued a bailable warrant against the magistrate.

The court also asked the prosecution to ensure witnesses are brought to court regularly and observed that if the NIA (National Investigation Agency) continues its practice of producing witnesses irregularly, “it is not possible for the court to decide the matter expediently as directed by the Supreme Court (SC).”

Meanwhile, the court allowed the exemption plea of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Pragya Singh Thakur from appearance on Thursday on health grounds. The court however, told her counsel that Thakur has to remain present at least once a week, failing which there may be legal consequences.

The court later rejected the plea of Sudhakar Dwivedi alias Swami Amritanand, who sought exemption from appearance till June 13. He had sought exemption claiming he is presently in Jammu and Kashmir for KshirBhavani Mahotsav, which the court said is “not a good and reasonable grounds” to grant exemption till June 13. HTC