The High Court also asked the NIA special court judge to take all steps to ensure that “trial concludes expeditiously” and suggested that bailable warrants can be issued against witnesses who do not appear. (Express archive)THE BOMBAY High Court on Wednesday asked the National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court to submit a fortnightly report on progress made in the 2008 Malegaon blasts trial in which BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit are named as accused.
The High Court also asked the NIA to ensure that at least two witnesses are present for examination for each hearing at the special court “so that the precious time of the Court is not wasted, more particularly, when the Court is seized with only the present case”.
The High Court also asked the NIA special court judge to take all steps to ensure that “trial concludes expeditiously” and suggested that bailable warrants can be issued against witnesses who do not appear.
A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and V G Bisht passed these directions while hearing a plea by Sameer Kulkarni, an accused in the case, who alleged that some of the other accused were deliberately delaying the trial.
Subscriber Only Stories
The High Court bench also asked advocate Sandesh Patil, appearing for NIA, to submit a record of daily proceedings of the trial for a month on August 1, the next date of hearing, so that the High Court can monitor the progress.
The directions were passed after the bench perused a status report submitted by the NIA special court.
“We will keep it (the hearing) after three weeks. We have called for a fortnightly report to examine how the witnesses are being examined. We will also see from the Roznama (daily proceedings) to see how witnesses are being examined on a day-to-day basis. We will know who is taking time, why is the trial being adjourned and if a warrant has been issued against witnesses or not,” the High Court bench said.
The bench said that while it could not direct the trial court as to how and in what manner the examination and trial should be conducted, it expressed concern that the NIA was calling only one witness every hearing.
“If witness cannot remain present, does the court not issue a warrant? You have to ensure that more than one witness remains present. If one witness is arranged for, and for some reason, that witness cannot remain present in court, then what happens? Judicial time is wasted,” Justice Dere remarked during the hearing.
Six people were killed and over 100 injured on September 29, 2008, when an explosive device placed on a motorbike exploded near a mosque at Malegaon in Maharashtra’s Nashik district.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
