In what may prove to be a setback to Lt. Col. Shrikant Purohit, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday refused to defer the framing of charges against all accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
A Bench of Justices S.S. Shinde and Mridula Bhatkar was hearing the plea filed by Lt. Col. Purohit seeking deferment in framing of charges against him and others till the issue of his sanction to prosecute is decided. On June 22, the High Court admitted Lt. Col. Purohit’s petition challenging the State government’s sanction to prosecute him and the rejection of his discharge plea before the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court in December 2017.
However, National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) counsel Sandesh Patil said that on directions from the Supreme Court, it would be appropriate to allow the lower court to decide on the sanction.
The lower court is expected to frame charges against all the accused on September 5.