Victims of the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast, Shaikh Liyaqat Mohiuddin and Usman Khan and others have approached the Bombay High Court to challenge the special court's acquittal of all accused, including former prominent BJP leader Pragya Thakur and Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit. The appeal, filed by Nisar Ahmed Sayyed Bilal, will likely be heard by a division bench comprising Justice Ajay Gadkari and Justice Ranjitsinha Bhonsale on September 15.

Brief Background :

The special court had acquitted the accused, stating the prosecution failed to prove that the bike used in the blast belonged to Pragya Thakur and observed she had renounced the material world two years prior, potentially making her uninvolved.

It also found no evidence linking Abhinav Bharat, the organization founded by Pragya and Purohit, to terrorist funding. The case, initiated by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) after the blast on September 29, 2008, was later taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Despite the NIA dropping all charges against Pragya in its supplementary chargesheet, it maintained charges against the other accused.