Click to play videoMumbai: Investigators in the Malegaon blast case have suffered a major legal reverse after a special court dropped charges under the Maharashtra anti-terror law Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against 11 accused, including Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt. Col. Prasad SP Purohit.
The court also ordered the trial will be heard in a regular Nashik court and that the accused can now become eligible for regular bail.
Father of prime accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Chandrapal Singh, distributed sweets at his home shortly after the Nashik special court's orders in an overt display of what the defence called vindication of their stand.
For the investigators, it couldn't have been worse news.
The special sessions court directed applying MCOCA on the accused was incorrect and hence the trial needed to be conducted by a regular court. It is a fallout of what many believe was a hasty and ill-thought out step of investigating officers.
MCOCA requires that at least one of the accused should have chargesheets in two previous cases to qualify as part of an organised crime syndicate.
The prosecution applied MCOCA on the basis of cases against accused Rakesh Dhawade after his arrest in the Malegaon blast.
Post Dhawade's arrest in the Malegaon case, he was charged with blasts in Jalna and Parbhani as well.
But there was no case against him prior to his arrest in the Malegaon case.
He was discharged from the Parbhani blasts, weakening the MCOCA case further.
"I think MCOCA is a very drastic legislation. It denies a person of his personal liberty and indiscriminate use of MCOCA in such a fashion will cause more harm that the harm caused by gangsters," said Shrikant Shivade, lawyer for Lt Col Purohit.
"For the application of MCOCA in any case the precondition is that at the time of commission of offence there should be two chargesheets prior to that against the accused person of a particular severe nature regarding which the court should have taken a cognizance," sadhvi's lawyer Navin Chomal said.
An embarrassed police have now decided to appeal against the special court's order.
"We are challenging this order in the High Court and we are confident that we will get a relief. Otherwise also our case is very strong and we have sufficient evidence in the case," claimed Anti-Terrorism Squad chief KP Raghuvanshi.
The special court has allowed a four week period for the police to appeal - a time it badly needs to salvage this serious setback to their arguments.
The Malegaon blast investigations were the first instance of an official probe which charged a Hindu terrorist group with involvement in serial blasts.
It is a case which put 26/11 martyr Hemant Karkare under unprecedented limelight and even controversy.
The special court's order now mean the police need a quick turnaround to prevent the accused from becoming eligible for regular bail.
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