In light of the fact that BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, a primary accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, has repeatedly missed court dates, impeding the proceedings, a special court on Wednesday ordered the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to confirm her health status.
On September 29, 2008, an explosive device affixed to a motorbike that was allegedly owned by Thakur detonated close to a mosque in Malegaon, around 200 km from Mumbai, resulting in six fatalities and over 100 injuries.
Singh’s advocate requested an exemption for Thakur’s appearance on Wednesday. The argument was that Thakur was receiving medical attention at home in Bhopal and that her physical condition was unanticipated and out of her control. The advocate also prayed that Thakur would be given enough time to recover from the aforementioned ailment.
According to the document that was attached to the exemption application, the accused had cervical spondylitis and migraines, for which her doctor had recommended total bed rest.
In response, the NIA’s special public prosecutor stated that while the accused’s plea had been considered multiple times, the cause could not be confirmed because she was out of the city.
Special Judge AK Lahoti stated that dates had been given to all accused well in advance to alleviate the challenge residents of other states faced in obtaining tickets at the last minute after hearing the opposing submissions and granting exemption to the accused for the day.
“The accused, Thakur, has not been seen for a long time, with the exception of March 22, 2024. The accused showed up in court on March 22, 2024, and given her current state of health and mental state, the judge granted her permission to go. She then left the court without returning to record her statement before leaving for Bhopal, the court stated, adding that her absence impeded the court’s work.
The Mumbai agency unit can communicate with their unit in Bhopal and submit the report to the court by April 8 at the latest, according to the verification report regarding her health condition that the court called from NIA Bhopal.
According to Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), the NIA court records the accused’s statements.
