MUMBAI: Bombay high court on Wednesday discharged four accused in the 2006 Malegaon blasts case and set aside a trial court order framing charges, including terror offences, against them.In their appeal, the quartet had sought the setting aside of a 2025 special NIA court order that framed 19 charges against them. In a detailed order, Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice S C Chandak said, “…diagonally opposite stories in the chargesheet filed by ATS and NIA lead nowhere.”A decade ago, nine other accused had been discharged in the case by a special trial court. There are three others named as absconding or wanted accused, against whom NIA did not file chargesheet.
On Sept 8, 2006, at about 1.50pm, four bombs exploded in Malegaon, three in the compound of Hamidiya Masjid and Bada Kabrastan and the fourth at Mushawart Chowk. The explosions claimed 31 lives and injured 312.Nineteen years later, the special trial court in Mumbai framed 19 charges against the four accused, including terror offences under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Framing of charge is the last pre-trial step. On being informed of the charge, all four pleaded ‘not guilty’ before the trial court and then quickly appealed against the charge-framing order before the HC, which in Jan 2026 stayed the trial.The National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the probe in 2011 in the case from CBI, which in 2007 was brought in to take over the probe from the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS).The 2006 Malegaon blasts case first saw nine accused, all Muslim, arrested by the ATS. A decade ago, in 2016, the NIA trial court dropped the case against them for want of evidence.
The NIA in 2012-2013 arrested the present four accused, all Hindus — Manohar Narwaria, Rajendra Chaudhary, Dhan Singh and Lokesh Sharma — who now have no trial to face after their successful appeal, said their lawyers. There were two appeals by two accused each, one argued by senior counsel Girish Kulkarni and one by advocate Kaushik Mhatre. The appeals said NIA as a prosecuting agency has no evidence against them and hence the trial court was not obliged to frame a charge to begin with. The appeal said they were arrested primarily on the confession of Swami Aseemanand, an accused in another blasts case, and since the confession was later rejected by a trial court in Hyderabad and Ajmer as being “coerced” and hence “inadmissible,” the basis to rope them in ends. Kulkarni also argued that NIA had only three circumstances against them. One was ‘discovery of blast site,’ which was already known due to the ATS probe, the other was alleged buying of two bi-cycles, with no witnesses or proof they were used, and lastly the identification parade, which was conducted after 6.5 years and could not be considered cogent proof. Two of the accused were arrested in MP and two from Ambala Central Jail while they were detained in connection with the Samjhauta Express blast case, their appeal said. The first probe was carried out by ATS and further investigation was done by CBI, which was not accepted by NIA which had filed a separate chargesheet against the four accused. For NIA, additional solicitor general Anil Singh opposed the appeal. Special public prosecutor Kuldeep Patil appeared for CBI and when asked by HC if CBI had appealed against the discharge of the earlier nine accused, Patil said it had not. NIA said tests of soil sample collected tested positive for RDX. The appeals said samples were lifted after 7 years from an alleged training camp. The appeals also contended the four were granted bail by HC, which on considering NIA probe observed there was no evidence collected to show any incriminating recovery from the four accused. Last July, a special trial court acquitted all 7 accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
