Supreme Court grants bail to Malegaon blast accused Lt Col Shrikant Purohit

The Supreme Court of India on Monday granted interim bail to Lt Col ShrikantPurohit, accused of plotting the Malegaon bomb blasts in 2008 that claimed sevenlives.

A bench of Justices R K Agrawal and A M Sapresaid it had aside the order of Bombay High court while granting bail tothe accused.

The court said bail was conditional and the accused had been asked not to tamper with evidence.

In April, the Bombay High Court had granted bail to Sadhvi Pragya, a co-accused in the case, but rejected Lt Col Purohit's plea on the grounds that the charges against him were grave in nature.

Purohit, who has been serving his term in a prison in Maharashtra,had moved the top court against the high court order the same month.

On August 17, hetold the top court that he has been caught in the "political crossfire" and has been languishing in jail for nine years.

Senior lawyer Harish Salve, who appeared for Lt Col Purohit, also argued that charges had still not been framed against him. He contended that that charges under Maharashtra's stringent anti-terrorism law, the MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act), had been dropped against the accused and so he should be granted interim bail.

The high court had said that prima facie no case was made out against Sadhvi Pragya, given a clean chit last year by the National Investigating Agency (NIA), which took over the probe from Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in 2011. The NIA had said there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Pragya and five others accused in the case. It recommended prosecuting Lt Col Purohit for conspiracy and under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

A special MCOCA court later ruled that the ATS had wrongly applied the law against the Sadhvi, Lt Col Purohit and nine others.

Sevenpeople were killed and nearly 100 others injured when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle exploded in Nasikdistrict's Malegaon townon September 29, 2008.

Both Sadhvi Pragya, a former Vishwa Hindu Parishadmember, and Lt Col Purohit were arrested the same year.

As per investigating agencies, the Malegaon blast was allegedly carried out by the right-wing extremist group the Abhinav Bharat of which Purhohit is a member.

While rejecting Purohit's bail plea, the high court refused to accept Purohit's contention that he had attended the meetings of the Abhinav Bharat as part of a "covert military intelligence operation."

The high court had referred to the report of the NIA and said "Purohit was the one who prepared a separate 'Constitution' for 'Hindu Rashtra' with a separate saffron colour flag. He also discussed taking revenge for the atrocities committed by the Muslims on Hindus."

The court had alsoaccused Purohit of arranging explosives for the blast.

The court had also pointed out the statements of the witnesses that it was Purohit who said the Abhinav Bharat should not be just a political party but an organisation of extremists with the capacity to eliminate persons.

Purohit had argued that the NIA was "selective" in exonerating some accused persons and had made him a "scapegoat". He also contends that the statements of the witnesses against him were "fabricated".