The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed an appeal by Sameer Kulkarni, a suspect in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, challenging the validity of the prosecution sanction granted under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The apex court upheld the previous decision of the Bombay High Court, which had also rejected Kulkarni’s plea.
Justices M M Sundresh and Aravind Kumar, presiding over the matter, stated they found no substantial reason to contest the judgement of the Bombay High Court. “We find no reason to interfere with the impugned judgement,” declared the bench during the proceedings.
Represented by senior advocate Shyam Divan, Kulkarni argued that the necessary sanction under Section 45(2) of the UAPA was not procured, thus invalidating the charges under this act. Divan emphasized that once the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the case, a sanction from the central government was mandatory.
The Supreme Court had previously halted proceedings against Kulkarni in the special court on April 30, pending review of his challenge to the Bombay High Court’s order dated June 28, 2023. Kulkarni contended that the trial in the special NIA court in Mumbai was conducted without valid sanction from the competent authority, as required by Section 45 of the UAPA.
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The 2008 Malegaon blast, which resulted in six deaths and nearly 100 injuries, involved a bomb attached to a motorcycle in the town of Malegaon, Nashik district, Maharashtra. Several individuals, including Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit, were arrested in connection to the plot. However, the NIA, taking over from the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), later exonerated Sadhvi Pragya.
