New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to suspended Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit, the main accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast, after he had spent nine years in prison.
Granting bail, a bench of Justice R.K. Agrawal and Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre said: “In our considered opinion, there are material contradictions in the charge sheets filed by the ATS Mumbai and the NIA which are required to be tested at the time of trial and this court cannot pick or choose one version over the other.”
Pointing out that grant or refusal of bail was within the court’s discretion, Justice Agrawal, speaking for the bench, said: “The grant or denial is regulated, to a large extent, by the facts and circumstances of each particular case. But at the same time, right to bail is not to be denied merely because of the sentiments of the community against the accused.”
Seven persons were killed in the explosion in Malegaon in Nashik district in Maharashtra on September 29, 2008.
The investigating agencies had earlier attributed the blast to right-wing group Abhinav Bharat. (IANS)
