Malegaon Blast Case: Supreme Court refuses Lt Col Purohit's plea seeking SIT probe

The Supreme Court of India (SC) on Tuesday rejected the plea by Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit seeking an investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into his alleged abduction, brutal torture and illegal detention by the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in relation to the 2008 Malegaon blast case.

To entertain the plea during a crucial stage in the case might hamper the ongoing trial, said the bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi, KM Joseph, and Naveen Sinha.

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“Why should we interfere at this stage? It may impact the trial,” the bench said.

However, the bench granted Purohit the liberty to raise his disagreement before the trial court and added that it is not giving any judgement on his plea.

Harish Salve, a senior advocate, who is appearing for Purohit had told the bench that the petition by Purohit needs to be looked upon.

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However, the bench asked him to put the matter before the trial court.

Purohit is one of the accused in the Malegaon Blast case and was granted conditional bail by a top court after spending 9 years in jail.

Seven people were killed in the Malegaon blast on September 29, 2008 in Nashik district of north Maharashtra.