The petition before the Supreme Court was filed by Nisar Ahmed Sayed Bilal, a 60-year-old resident of Malegaon, who lost his son in the blast.
The father of a victim of the 2008 Malegaon blast has approached the Supreme Court, seeking that the tenure of the special judge conducting the trial be extended.
Special Judge Vinod S Padalkar, who is presiding over the ongoing trial designated under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act, will be retiring on February 29.
The petition before the Supreme Court was filed by Nisar Ahmed Sayed Bilal, a 60-year-old resident of Malegaon, who lost his son in the blast.
The petition states that there is an apprehension that the retirement of the current judge would delay the trial as he is “fully conversant” with records of the case. It says that the delay in completion of the trial, which is pending since the last 12 years, is a violation of his fundamental right. The petition further says that for the past one year, nearly 140 witnesses have been examined and the case has picked up pace.
The Centre, through a notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs issued on April 18, 2018, had appointed Judge Padalkar to preside over the special court on the recommendation of the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. The petition also said that a letter was written to the Chief Justice requesting for an extension to the tenure but there was no development on the front.
Pragya Thakur appears in court
A day after the special court directed that the accused should comply with its earlier order directing them to remain present before it at least once a week, BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur appeared before the court. Thakur, who came from Bhopal on Thursday afternoon, marked her attendance and left within a few minutes. Outside court, when asked about the demand for the resignation of Home Minister Amit Shah for the Delhi violence, Thakur told reporters that the Congress was “responsible” for the violence and said the party had no moral ground to demand resignation referring to the 1984 violence against Sikhs and the Emergency.