On the petition filed against the delay in sanction of prosecution against accused Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit in the Malegaon blast case, the Supreme Court has directed the Bombay High Court to expedite the hearing.
Lt Col Purohit had moved the Supreme Court to quash the case against him in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case.
A bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Vikram Nath have asked the High Court to hear the matter soon.
Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit has said in his petition that the National Investigation Agency has not taken permission from the government to prosecute him. Therefore, he cannot be prosecuted.
In his petition in Supreme Court, Purohit sought the dropping of all charges against him. He has also stated that the alleged acts of conspiracy committed by him were committed in the discharge of his duties as an army officer.
Purohit said that he has been suffering as an undertrial prisoner for many years and the delay in the clearance process by the NIA is adding to his woes.
Purohit was arrested in this case in 2009. On September 29, 2008, six people were killed and 100 others were injured when a bomb tied to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon town of Nashik district.
Purohit said that he has been charged by the NIA under anti-terror laws. Whereas he was merely collecting information and passing it on to the army by meeting with other accused persons and participating in conspiracy meetings related to the case.