SC gives notice to Centre on Malegaon blasts case prosecutor

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre and National Investigating Agency (NIA) to respond to a plea challenging the removal of Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case.

However, a bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar refused to put the trial on hold, despite petitioner Harsh Mander’s counsel Kapil Sibal and Indira Jaisingh, demanding it in the “interest of justice”.

The court gave one week’s time to the investigating agency and the Centre to explain the reasons for removing Rohini Salian as the SPP from the case.

Former national advisory council member Mander alleged in his petition that the NIA was exerting pressure on Salian to go soft on the accused in the case after a change in the government at the Centre. She was removed when she did not relent.

The NIA had taken over the Malegaon blast case from the Maharashtra anti-squad team. In its 4,000 page chargesheet, the NIA named Lt. Col. SP Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Swami Dayanand Pandey as the key conspirators behind the blast. Seven more persons are named as accused in the case.

Mander accused the NDA government of trying to interfere with the functioning of the prosecutor.

In an interview after her exit, Salian said the officer who had asked her to go soft had informed the advocate that she would not longer continue on the NIA’s panel of lawyers.