Malegaon blast case: Court issues bailable warrant against BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur

Pragya Singh Thakur, an accused in the Malegaon blast case, can appear before the special court in Mumbai and get the warrant cancelled as per legal procedure.

Special Judge A K Lahoti rejected the exemption application and issued a bailable warrant of Rs 10,000 against Pragya Thakur. (X/@sadhvipragyag)

A special court in Mumbai on Monday issued a bailable warrant of Rs 10,000 against BJP Bhopal MP and 2008 Malegaon blast accused Pragya Singh Thakur for not appearing in court. Pragya and the other accused were directed by the special court to remain present on Monday to record their statements.

Pragya’s lawyers, however, submitted an exemption application along with a copy of a medical certificate stating she was feeling dizzy and might travel to Mumbai at her own risk. Citing this, the lawyers sought an exemption for her from appearing on Monday.

Special Judge A K Lahoti rejected the exemption application and issued a bailable warrant of Rs 10,000 against Pragya. The court said she had been specifically directed to remain present on Monday along with the original medical certificate. “Despite aforesaid conditions, neither she is present nor the original medical certificate is produced on record,” the court said. During a hearing on March 5, when the court had granted her exemption from appearing based on a photocopy of a medical certificate which said that she needed rest, the court had directed her to produce the original certificate.

Thakur can appear before the court and get the warrant, returnable on March 20, cancelled as per legal procedure. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has also been directed to submit a report by March 20.

The blast in Malegaon town near Nashik on September 29, 2008 had killed six people and injured over 100. Seven accused, including Pragya, are currently undergoing trial which is at the stage of recording of statements of the accused under section 313 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

Last month, the special court had directed all the accused to remain present, stating that from now on it will be necessary that they are in court on fixed dates.

The court had later passed an order after Pragya sought exemption from appearance for a day, citing ill health. It permitted the exemption for the day noting that she was on medication, but specified that she was only exempted from appearance on that particular day.

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“It is observed that the present accused (Pragya Thakur) and some other accused are not attending the court regularly on fixed dates. Time to time, their exemption applications for the reasons put forth by them are also considered by the court. It is also observed that some accused are residents of other states and while moving the application they used to mention that they used to face the difficulty to get the tickets at the 11th hour. To overcome the aforesaid difficulty, the dates to all accused are given in advance. Therefore, hereinafter, the said issue will not be considered…,” the court had said last month.

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