Malegaon blasts: Bombay HC grants bail to Sadhvi Pragya, rejects Purohit's plea

In a major relief to Sadhvi Pragya Singh, accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted her bail on cash surety of Rs 5 lakh, following which she will be released from prison eight years after being arrested.

However, the court turned down the bail plea of co-accused Lt Colonel Prasad Purohit, holding that that the charges against him are of a grave nature and are prima facie true.

"Prima facie there is no case made out against Sadhvi. But there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accusations made against Purohit are prima facie true," a division bench of Justice Ranjit More and Justice Dr Shalini Phansalkar Joshi held while granting bail to Singh and rejecting the primary charge against her of owning the two-wheeler used for the blast.

Singh and Purohit are accused of involvement in the Malegaon blast in which eight persons were killed and nearly 80 others were injured when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle exploded on September 29, 2008.

"There is enough doubt about the motorcycle of which the Appellant is the registered owner, that was found at the spot of incident. Even assuming the said motorcycle was found at the place of the incident, the fact that Appellant is the registered owner of it by itself cannot be sufficient in the light of material on record brought by the prosecution itself," the judgment said. It is stated that absconding accused was in possession of the two-wheeler for over two years prior to the incident.

The 44-year-old Sadhvi, who is suffering from cancer, has been told to submit her passport, if any, with the Special Court. She is also directed to report to the NIA as and when required and not tamper with evidence.

The bench also considered that National Investigation Agency (NIA) to whom the case was transferred for further investigation had exonerated Singh of all charges and also given a no objection, for her release before the court.

It said, "If both the reports of ATS and NIA are considered conjointly, so far as the Appellant is concerned, it cannot be said that there are reasonable grounds for believing that accusation made against her are prima facie true. Once it is held so, then the benefit of bail cannot be withheld to the Appellant, even if the offences alleged against her by ATS are grave and serious one."

Singh was arrested on October 23, 2008 by the state Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS), then headed by late Hemant Karkare. She has been in custody since then and has lately been getting treatment at a Madhya Pradesh hospital. The special NIA court had last year in June rejected her application for bail, stating that there was no change of circumstance in the case, which was challenged by her in the high court.

Meanwhile, the court while turning down the bail plea of Purohit said, "There is more than sufficient evidence on record, like, the transcriptions of the conversations that took place in the various meetings, and also on the Call Detail Record i.e. intercepted telephonic conversation between the Appellant and Accused No.4-Ramesh Upadhyay. These do not, prima facie, support the contention of the Appellant that he was acting under the 'Covert Military Operation' and was also working in discharge of his duties."

The court also remarked that soon after Sadhvi Pragya Singh's arrest, Purohit did not immediately contact his superior officers in the Army or apprise the police, who were investigating the case, about his role. At least, he would not have any apprehension of being arrested in the case.

Rejecting the bail plea, the court said "reasonable grounds for believing that accusations made against the Appellant are prima facie true and that appears to be the reason as to why NIA has also not given a 'clean-chit' to the Appellant, though it has done so in respect of some of the other co-accused."

"It is of waging war against the integrity and unity of the state and, that too, by violent means like exploding the bomb, so as to create terror in the minds of the people," the judges said.

Referring to the report (charge sheet) filed by the NIA, they said, "Purohit was the one who prepared a separate 'Constitution' for 'Hindu Rashtra' with a separate saffron colour flag. He also discussed about taking revenge for the atrocities committed by the Muslims on Hindus." The HC refused to accept Purohit's contention that he had attended the meetings as part of a "covert military intelligence operation."

The court pointed out the statements of the witnesses that it was Purohit, who said their right-wing group Abhinav Bharat should not be just a political party but should work as an organisation of extremists, having the capacity to eliminate persons opposing the same.

"If Purohit's contention that he used to attend the meetings merely as a part of his duty while working as a 'Military Intelligence Officer' is to be accepted then there was no reason for him to express such views to the witness," the judges said in their 118-page order on Purohit's plea.

MALEGAON CASE CHARGE SHEET

The Anti-Terrorism Squad charge sheet stated that prime accused, Ram Kalsangra, used Sadhvi Pragya’s scooter for the Malegaon blast.

WHO IS SADHVI PRAGYA?

Pragya Singh was once an active member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. She was also a member of Durga Vahini, the VHP’s women wing.

Pragya left ABVP after becoming a disciple of Avdeshanand Giri. She took sanyas in 2006. She founded Jai Vande Mataram Jan Kalyan Samiti in 2002.