Seventeen years after a bomb blast shook the town of Malegaon in Maharashtra’s Nashik district, a Special NIA Court is finally set to deliver its verdict on Thursday, July 31.

The case has remained one of India’s most politically charged terror cases, often linked to debates around terms like “Hindu terror” and “saffron terrorism.”

The blast took place on September 29, 2008, on the eve of Navratri and during Ramzan, killing six people and injuring over 100 in the communally sensitive town, about 300 km from Mumbai.

Special Judge A.K. Lahoti, who is hearing the case, has directed all the accused to be present in court for the verdict.

Who Are the Accused?

Out of the 12 original accused, seven faced trial, including:

• Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur (now a BJP MP)

• Lt Col Prasad Purohit (Retd)

• Maj Ramesh Upadhyaya (Retd)

• Sameer Kulkarni

• Ajay alias Raja Rahirkar

• Sudhakar Dhar Dwivedi alias Swami Amrutanand

• Sudhakar Chaturvedi

The remaining five accused were discharged by the court before the trial began.

The accused are facing charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and the Explosive Substances Act. However, charges under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) were dropped on the NIA’s recommendation.

Case Brief:

The case was initially investigated by Maharashtra’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) under Hemant Karkare, who was later martyred during the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

• The ATS filed its chargesheet in 2009.

• The probe was handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2011, and in 2016, the NIA filed a supplementary chargesheet.

• While agreeing with much of the ATS probe, the NIA dropped the MCOCA charges.

• The trial saw 323 witnesses, though 34 turned hostile.

• Final hearings ended in September 2023, and the court reserved its verdict in April 2024.

Senior Advocate JP Singh, who represents Sadhvi Pragya, confirmed that the verdict would be announced on Thursday, adding, “Truth will win.”

The outcome of this long-running and sensitive case is being closely watched across the country.