The Bombay High Court today discharged four men accused in the 2006 Malegaon blast case and quashed a special court order framing charges against them. A bench comprising Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Shyam Chandak allowed the appeals filed by the four accused – Rajendra Chaudhary, Dhan Singh, Manohar Ram Singh Narwaria and Lokesh Sharma – against the special court’s order. The four were charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for murder and criminal conspiracy, as well as under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
On 8 September 2006, four bombs exploded in Malegaon town in Nashik district, three inside the premises of Hamidia Masjid and Bada Kabrastan just after Friday prayers, and the fourth in Mushawarat Chowk, claiming 31 lives and injuring 312 persons. The state Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which initially investigated the case, had arrested nine Muslim men in connection with it. The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which later took over the case, claimed that the blasts were the handiwork of right-wing extremists and arrested the four accused. In September last year, a special court framed charges against the four accused, following which they moved the High Court against the order.
