Joined conspirators on Army responsibility: Malegaon blast accused Prasad Shrikant Purohit to HC

Malegaon bomb blast case accused Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit on Wednesday informed the Bombay High Court, by means of his lawyer, that he was amassing intelligence for the Indian Army as a part of his responsibility by attending conspiracy conferences for the 2008 blast.
The excessive courtroom was listening to Purohit’s software in search of that every one prices in opposition to him within the case be dropped.
Six individuals had been killed and 100 others injured when a bomb strapped to a bike went off close to a mosque in Malegaon metropolis in Nashik district of Maharashtra on September 29, 2008.
Neela Gokhale, the counsel for Purohit, who has been booked below anti-terror legal guidelines by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), informed a bench of Justices SS Shinde and MS Karnik that he had been assembly conspirators and attending secret conferences in a bid to collect info and go it on to the Army.
Gokhale submitted that Purohit was merely discharging his duties, and due to this fact, the NIA ought to have obtained a previous sanction of the Central authorities to prosecute him.
She mentioned the part 197(2) of the CrPC (Criminal Procedure Code) barred a courtroom from cognisance of any offence that had been dedicated by any member of the Armed Forces whereas performing in discharge of his or her duties with out earlier sanction of the Central authorities.
Gokhale cited “documents from the Indian Army, and former Mumbai joint commissioner of Mumbai Police, Himanshu Roy, commending Purohit for the inputs and information he had allegedly shared with them over the years”.
“I (Prasad Shrikant Purohit) am pointing out from these documents that I was discharging my duty, infiltrating in the groups and reporting to my superiors for protecting national security,” Gokhale mentioned.
“And for this work, they put me in jail, tortured me, and branded me a terrorist,” the counsel mentioned.

In September final 12 months, Purohit had filed a pleain the HC in search of that every one prices within the case in opposition to him be quashed.
He submitted that the NIA, the prosecuting company within the case, didn’t search prior sanction below the Criminal Procedure Code to prosecute him, due to this fact, the courts couldn’t have taken cognisance of the costs in opposition to him.
The NIA, nevertheless, opposed Purohit’s plea.
In an affidavit filed within the excessive courtroom in September final 12 months, the NIA had mentioned that in attending the conspiracy conferences, Purohit was not working for the Army and due to this fact, no sanction below 197 of the CrPc was required for his prosecution.
Purohit was arrested within the case in 2009.

According to the NIA, the motorbike used within the blast belonged to Purohit’s co-accused and BJP MP Pragya Thakur.
The HC will proceed listening to the arguments within the case on February 2.