New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a plea by Sameer Kulkarni, arrested for his alleged involvement in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, against the sanction for prosecution granted by the Maharashtra government under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Six persons were killed and nearly 100 injured when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle exploded in Malegaon town in Nashik district.
The matter was taken up by a bench comprising Justices M M Sundresh and Aravind Kumar. The bench told the counsel, representing Kulkarni, that the court is not keen to interfere with the Bombay High Court order.
The High Court had dismissed Kulkarni's plea. Senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing Kulkarni, contended that the prosecution has not obtained sanction under Section 45(2) of UAPA. He insisted that against this backdrop the charges under the UAPA cannot be sustained.
"We find no reason to interfere with the impugned judgment," said the bench. Divan argued that when the matter was handed over to the National Investigation Agency, there ought to be a sanction by the Centre. However, the bench refused to interfere with the High Court judgment.
In April, the apex court had stayed proceedings against Kulkarni before the special court. Kulkarni, one of the accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, challenged the trial in the special NIA court, Mumbai, saying that it lacks the valid sanction granted by the competent authority in accordance with Section 45 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Kulkarni contended that his primary case is that the trial cannot proceed in light of there being no valid prior sanction for prosecution of either the state government or the central government. Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit were arrested in the same year with nine others for the blast conspiracy. The NIA, which took over the probe from the Maharashtra ATS, gave a clean chit to Sadhvi Pragya.
