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Case of the 2006 bomb blasts in a standstill state ! : Bombay High Court

  • NIA ignored crucial evidence gathered by Maharashtra ATS and CBI

  • Trial court failed to exercise judicial discretion

Malegaon, Maharashtra – The case of the 2006 Malegaon bomb blasts has reached a “complete standstill”, the Bombay High Court remarked while acquitting four accused. The Court made serious observations that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) completely disregarded key evidence collected by earlier agencies. It also criticised the Special NIA Court for overlooking major inconsistencies in the investigation.

On 8 September 2006, four bomb blasts rocked Malegaon in Nashik district. Initially, the Maharashtra ATS and the CBI arrested nine Muslim youths and filed a chargesheet. However, the NIA later gave them a clean chit and shifted the case against Rajendra Chaudhary, Dhan Singh, Manohar Narwaria, and Lokesh Sharma.

The Bench came down strongly, stating:

1. The ATS had clearly established a conspiracy and even found RDX traces in soil samples and a godown linked to one of the accused. Despite this, the NIA completely ignored this critical evidence.

2. There was not a single witness linking the four accused to the blasts. Why the NIA failed to conduct further investigation remains an unanswered and serious question.

3. The ATS and NIA chargesheets were completely contradictory, weakening the entire case and bringing it to a standstill.

4. Even in a grave offence like murder, the trial court failed to properly verify whether sufficient evidence existed. Charges were framed merely on circumstantial evidence while ignoring glaring inconsistencies.

5. The Court effectively held that there was no evidence to prosecute the accused and that the trial court failed to exercise judicial discretion, leading to their acquittal.

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