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The Supreme Court on Friday granted Malegaon blasts case accused Lt Colonel Shrikant Purohit liberty to raise the issue of grant of sanction for prosecution under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) at the time of framing of charges in the case. “We clarify that the observation be taken in a context that the issue of prosecution sanction can be raised and considered at the time of framing of charges,” a bench of Justices R K Agrawal and A M Sapre said.
The direction came when senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Purohit, said an observation in last year’s bail order of the apex court has been construed as that the issue of prosecution sanction be raised and considered at the time of trial.
The apex court, while granting bail to Purohit on August 21, 2017, had said the issue of grant of prosecution sanction could be raised at the time of trial.
Salve said this was the substantial question of law and Purohit should be allowed to raise the issue at the time of framing of charges itself.
Purohit had moved the apex court on January 18 challenging the Bombay High Court order dismissing his plea against the sanction granted by Maharashtra government to prosecute him under UAPA.
The High Court had dismissed his plea saying the issue of grant of prosecution sanction under the UAPA, could be raised at the time of trial.
Six persons were killed and 101 were injured when an improvised explosive device strapped on a motorcycle went off at Malegaon, a town with a sizeable Muslim population in north Maharashtra’s Nashik district on September 29, 2008.
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