The Bombay High Court on Friday granted bail to four accused in the 2006 Malegaon blasts case.

A division bench of Justices I A Mahanty and A M Badar granted bail to Dhan Singh, Lokesh Sharma, Manohar Narwaria and Rajendra Chaudhary.

"The petitions are allowed. The applicants shall be released on cash bail of Rs 50,000. They shall attend the special court on each day during the trial and shall not tamper with evidence or contact witnesses," the bench said.

The four, who are in jail since their arrest in 2013, had approached the high court in 2016 after a special court rejected their bail pleas in June that year.

The serial bomb blasts outside a cemetery near Hamidia mosque at Malegaon near Nashik on September 8, 2006, claimed 37 lives and injured over 100 people.

Maharashtra's Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS), which first probed the case, had initially arrested nine accused from the minority community. The case was later handed over to the CBI, which followed the same line of investigation.

When the probe was taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) later, it concluded that the blasts were carried out by people belonging to the majority community.

The NIA decided to drop charges against the nine accused and booked Singh, Sharma, Narwaria and Chaudhary. The special trial court in 2016 accepted the NIA's stand and discharged the nine accused.

Apart from seeking bail, Singh and others had challenged the discharge of the nine men. The four accused also challenged the special court's order rejecting their own applications seeking discharge.

Those appeals will be heard by the high court at a later stage.

The Bombay High Court on Friday granted bail to four accused in the 2006 Malegaon blasts case. A division bench of Justices I A Mahanty and A M Badar granted bail to Dhan Singh, Lokesh Sharma, Manohar Narwaria and Rajendra Chaudhary.

The Bombay High Court on Friday granted bail to four accused in the 2006 Malegaon blasts case. A division bench of Justices I A Mahanty and A M Badar granted bail to Dhan Singh, Lokesh Sharma, Manohar Narwaria and Rajendra Chaudhary. "The petitions are allowed. The applicants shall be released on cash bail of Rs 50,000. They shall attend the special court on each day during the trial and shall not tamper with evidence or contact witnesses," the bench said. The four, who are in jail since their arrest in 2013, had approached the high court in 2016 after a special court rejected their bail pleas in June that year. The serial bomb blasts outside a cemetery near Hamidia mosque at Malegaon near Nashik on September 8, 2006, claimed 37 lives and injured over 100 people. Maharashtra's Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS), which first probed the case, had initially arrested nine accused from the minority community. The case was later handed over to the CBI, which followed the same line of investigation. When the probe was taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) later, it concluded that the blasts were carried out by people belonging to the majority community. The NIA decided to drop charges against the nine accused and booked Singh, Sharma, Narwaria and Chaudhary. The special trial court in 2016 accepted the NIA's stand and discharged the nine accused. Apart from seeking bail, Singh and others had challenged the discharge of the nine men. The four accused also challenged the special court's order rejecting their own applications seeking discharge. Those appeals will be heard by the high court at a later stage.

Bombay High Court grants bail to four accused in Malegaon blasts case 

A special court here has granted an exemption to the 2008 Malegaon blast case accused Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit and Sudhakar Chaturvedi from appearing before it this week.

When the matter was taken up by the special NIA court on Monday, the three accused filed applications through their lawyers seeking exemption from appearance.

While Thakur and Chaturvedi said they are busy with preparations for the upcoming results of the Lok Sabha polls, which they had contested, Purohit cited personal difficulties. The court allowed the applications.

The court also allowed an application filed by lawyers of the accused persons to visit the blast site in Malegaon, a town about 200 kilometres from here in Maharashtra’s Nashik district.

Last week, the special NIA court, which is conducting a trial against seven accused in the case, had directed all of them to appear before it at least once a week.

It then said an exemption would be granted if cogent reasons were submitted.

Thakur, the BJP nominee from Bhopal Lok Sabha Seat, said in her application that as a candidate, she would have to fulfil certain procedures of the Election Commission, including nominating her agents for the counting of votes in her constituency on May 23.

Chaturvedi, who fought the election as an Independent from Mirzapur Seat in Uttar Pradesh, cited the same reason.

Currently, the court is recording the testimony of witnesses in the case. Besides these three, the other accused in the case are Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi and Sameer Kulkarni. They are all out on bail.

The accused persons are facing trial under various sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

They have been charged under UAPA Sections 16 (committing terrorist act) and 18 (conspiring to commit terrorist act). They are facing charges under Sections 120(b) (Criminal Conspiracy), 302 (Murder), 307 (Attempt to murder), 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt) and 153(a) (promoting enmity between two religious groups) of the IPC.

The accused have also been charged under relevant sections of the Explosive Substances Act.

A special court here has granted an exemption to the 2008 Malegaon blast case accused Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit and Sudhakar Chaturvedi from appearing before it this week.

A special court here has granted an exemption to the 2008 Malegaon blast case accused Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit and Sudhakar Chaturvedi from appearing before it this week. When the matter was taken up by the special NIA court on Monday, the three accused filed applications through their lawyers seeking exemption from appearance. While Thakur and Chaturvedi said they are busy with preparations for the upcoming results of the Lok Sabha polls, which they had contested, Purohit cited personal difficulties. The court allowed the applications. The court also allowed an application filed by lawyers of the accused persons to visit the blast site in Malegaon, a town about 200 kilometres from here in Maharashtra’s Nashik district. Last week, the special NIA court, which is conducting a trial against seven accused in the case, had directed all of them to appear before it at least once a week. It then said an exemption would be granted if cogent reasons were submitted. Thakur, the BJP nominee from Bhopal Lok Sabha Seat, said in her application that as a candidate, she would have to fulfil certain procedures of the Election Commission, including nominating her agents for the counting of votes in her constituency on May 23. Chaturvedi, who fought the election as an Independent from Mirzapur Seat in Uttar Pradesh, cited the same reason. Currently, the court is recording the testimony of witnesses in the case. Besides these three, the other accused in the case are Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi and Sameer Kulkarni. They are all out on bail. The accused persons are facing trial under various sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). They have been charged under UAPA Sections 16 (committing terrorist act) and 18 (conspiring to commit terrorist act). They are facing charges under Sections 120(b) (Criminal Conspiracy), 302 (Murder), 307 (Attempt to murder), 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt) and 153(a) (promoting enmity between two religious groups) of the IPC. The accused have also been charged under relevant sections of the Explosive Substances Act.

Malegaon blast case: Pragya Singh Thakur, two other accused exempted from court appearance

The Special NIA court in Mumbai has directed all accused of Malegaon 2008 blast case to remain present before the court at least once a week.

The court on Friday&nbsp;expressed displeasure over the&nbsp;absence of Sadhvi Pragya and&nbsp;Lt Col Prasad Purohit from the courtroom.

Bharatiya Janata Party's Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur is among the seven accused facing trial in the Malegaon blast case, wherein six people were killed and a dozen others were injured. The bomb that was placed on a motorcycle exploded in Maharashtra's Malegaon on September 29, 2008.

Next hearing in the matter has been scheduled for May 20.

Bharatiya Janata Party has been drawing flak from the opposition since they gave the ticket to Sadhvi Pragya for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Sadhvi&nbsp;was fielded from Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal constituency against Congress veteran leader Digvijay Singh.

(With inputs from agencies)

The Special NIA court in Mumbai has directed all accused of Malegaon 2008 blast case to remain present before the court at least once a week. The court on Friday expressed displeasure over the absence of Sadhvi Pragya and Lt Col Prasad Purohit from the courtroom.

The Special NIA court in Mumbai has directed all accused of Malegaon 2008 blast case to remain present before the court at least once a week. The court on Friday expressed displeasure over the absence of Sadhvi Pragya and Lt Col Prasad Purohit from the courtroom. Bharatiya Janata Party's Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur is among the seven accused facing trial in the Malegaon blast case, wherein six people were killed and a dozen others were injured. The bomb that was placed on a motorcycle exploded in Maharashtra's Malegaon on September 29, 2008. Next hearing in the matter has been scheduled for May 20. Bharatiya Janata Party has been drawing flak from the opposition since they gave the ticket to Sadhvi Pragya for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Sadhvi was fielded from Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal constituency against Congress veteran leader Digvijay Singh. (With inputs from agencies)

NIA court expresses displeasure over absence of Sadhvi Pragya, Lt Col Purohit 

Sadhvi Pragya said that former Mumbai Anti-Terrorist Squad chief Hemant Karkare, who died in action during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, had falsely implicated her in the Malegaon blast and hence, died because of his karma. Watch full video to know more.

ATS chief Hemant Karkare treated me badly, died of his karma: Sadhvi Pragya on 26/11 hero

Bharatiya Janata Party's Bhopal Lok Sabha candidate, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur apologised for her statement made earlier in the day against 26/11 attack martyr Hemant Karkare. She said that it was her "personal pain"

While taking back her statement, Sadhvi Pragya said, "I felt that the enemies of the country were being benefited from it."&nbsp;

"Therefore I take back my statement and apologise for it, it was my personal pain."

"Hemant Karkare died from the bullets of terrorists from the enemy country, he is certainly a martyr," she added.

Addressing BJP workers in Bhopal on Thursday, Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya had said that she "cursed" him for torturing her.

"He tortured me and subjected me to harsh abuse which was unbearable. I told him he will be destroyed. A little over a month later 'sutak' (ritual observed after the death of a family member) was going to start...Just over a month later, he was shot dead by terrorists and the inauspicious period ended," PTI reported Sadhvi Pragya as saying.

Karkare was killed along with two other senior police officers while fighting terrorists during the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai in November 2008.

Out on bail, Pragya has been discharged by a court on charges under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the 2008 case but is still facing trial under other criminal provisions, including the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Meanwhile, BJP in its official statement over the remark, said, "BJP considers him a martyr. This is Sadhvi Pragya's personal statement which she might have given because of the mental &amp; physical torture she had faced." 
&nbsp;

Bharatiya Janata Party's Bhopal Lok Sabha candidate, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur apologised for her statement made earlier in the day against 26/11 attack martyr Hemant Karkare.

Bharatiya Janata Party's Bhopal Lok Sabha candidate, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur apologised for her statement made earlier in the day against 26/11 attack martyr Hemant Karkare. She said that it was her "personal pain" While taking back her statement, Sadhvi Pragya said, "I felt that the enemies of the country were being benefited from it." "Therefore I take back my statement and apologise for it, it was my personal pain." "Hemant Karkare died from the bullets of terrorists from the enemy country, he is certainly a martyr," she added. Addressing BJP workers in Bhopal on Thursday, Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya had said that she "cursed" him for torturing her. "He tortured me and subjected me to harsh abuse which was unbearable. I told him he will be destroyed. A little over a month later 'sutak' (ritual observed after the death of a family member) was going to start...Just over a month later, he was shot dead by terrorists and the inauspicious period ended," PTI reported Sadhvi Pragya as saying. Karkare was killed along with two other senior police officers while fighting terrorists during the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai in November 2008. Out on bail, Pragya has been discharged by a court on charges under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the 2008 case but is still facing trial under other criminal provisions, including the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Meanwhile, BJP in its official statement over the remark, said, "BJP considers him a martyr. This is Sadhvi Pragya's personal statement which she might have given because of the mental & physical torture she had faced."

I take back my statement and apologise for it: Sadhvi Pragya on her remark on Hemant Karkare

The father of one of the victims of the 2008 Malegaon blast moved the special NIA court here Thursday, urging it to bar prime accused Sadhvi <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/digvijaya-singh-needed-proper-challenger-bjps-ram-madhav-on-pragya-thakur-211565">Pragya Singh Thakur</a> from contesting the Lok Sabha election.

The application was filed by Nisar Sayeed, who lost his son in the blast, a day after the BJP fielded Thakur from the Bhopal Lok Sabha seat against Congress veteran Digvijay Singh.

Special National Investigation Agency cases judge V S Padalkar sought replies from both the NIA and Thakur and posted the matter for Monday.

The applicant sought that Thakur, who is out on bail, be asked to attend court proceedings in Mumbai and be barred from contesting the election as the trial is in progress.

It further mentioned that Thakur got bail on health grounds. If she was "healthy enough to fight elections in the crippling summers heat", then she has misled the court, the complainant alleged.&nbsp;

A petition seeking cancellation of her bail was pending before the Supreme Court, it said.

Six people were killed and over a hundred injured in a bomb blast at Malegaon, a communally-sensitive textile town in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008.

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested Thakur and others in the case, alleging that they were part of a Hindu extremist group which carried out the blast.

The NIA later gave Thakur a clean chit, but the court did not discharge Thakur.

It dropped charges against her under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, but she is still facing trial under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Indian Penal Code sections.

The father of one of the victims of the 2008 Malegaon blast moved the special NIA court here Thursday, urging it to bar prime accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur from contesting the Lok Sabha election.

The father of one of the victims of the 2008 Malegaon blast moved the special NIA court here Thursday, urging it to bar prime accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur from contesting the Lok Sabha election. The application was filed by Nisar Sayeed, who lost his son in the blast, a day after the BJP fielded Thakur from the Bhopal Lok Sabha seat against Congress veteran Digvijay Singh. Special National Investigation Agency cases judge V S Padalkar sought replies from both the NIA and Thakur and posted the matter for Monday. The applicant sought that Thakur, who is out on bail, be asked to attend court proceedings in Mumbai and be barred from contesting the election as the trial is in progress. It further mentioned that Thakur got bail on health grounds. If she was "healthy enough to fight elections in the crippling summers heat", then she has misled the court, the complainant alleged. A petition seeking cancellation of her bail was pending before the Supreme Court, it said. Six people were killed and over a hundred injured in a bomb blast at Malegaon, a communally-sensitive textile town in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested Thakur and others in the case, alleging that they were part of a Hindu extremist group which carried out the blast. The NIA later gave Thakur a clean chit, but the court did not discharge Thakur. It dropped charges against her under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, but she is still facing trial under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Indian Penal Code sections.

Malegaon victim's father asks court to ban Sadhvi from contesting polls

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Bombay High Court grants bail to four accused in Malegaon blasts case

Malegaon blast case: Pragya Singh Thakur, two other accused exempted from court appearance

NIA court expresses displeasure over absence of Sadhvi Pragya, Lt Col Purohit

ATS chief Hemant Karkare treated me badly, died of his karma: Sadhvi Pragya on 26/11 hero

I take back my statement and apologise for it: Sadhvi Pragya on her remark on Hemant Karkare

Malegaon victim's father asks court to ban Sadhvi from contesting polls