Malegaon blasts case: NIA Court rejects plea by Pragya Thakur for permanent exemption from appearance

A Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court has rejected a plea by BJP Member of Parliament, Pragya Thakur, seeking a permanent exemption from attending court in connection with the 2008 Malegaon blasts case..As per reports, Thakur’s request was premised on the fact that she was now a Member of Lok Sabha and had to attend the Parliament on a daily basis. She had also cited security issues, ill-health and distance as grounds for the exemption..The NIA Court rejected the plea while observing that these grounds were not reasonable enough to grant a permanent exemption from appearance before Court..On June 3, the NIA Court has had directed Thakur along with other accused persons to appear before it once a week to attend the proceedings which are otherwise proceeding on a day-to-day basis..Pragya Thakur is the prime accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts, which claimed the lives of ten people and injured over 80 others. The hearings in the case are progressing before the NIA Court on a daily basis. As of today, 116 witnesses have been examined by the court. Counsel for one of the intervenors in the case, Advocate Shahid Nadeem Ansari told Bar & Bench that 300 witnesses are yet to be examined..In April, the NIA Court had rejected an application filed by the father of one of the victims of the blasts seeking to restrain Thakur from contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. The Court dismissed the application paving the way for the BJP candidate to win the election from the Bhopal constituency.