Overview

• Six relatives of those killed in the 2008 Malegaon blast filed the appeal on Monday through advocate Mateen Shaikh, with Nisar Ahmed Sayyed Bilal as a lead petitioner.
• The challenge targets the acquittal of seven accused: Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt Col Prasad Purohit, Major (retd) Ramesh Upadhyay, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni.
• According to the High Court website, the matter is likely to be listed on September 15 before a division bench headed by Justice A. S. Gadkari.
• The appeal argues that investigative defects alone should not result in acquittal, contends conspiracy cases rarely have direct evidence, criticizes the trial judge as acting like a "post-office," and alleges the NIA diluted the case.
• The special NIA court’s July 31 judgment said "mere suspicion cannot replace real proof," found no cogent evidence to convict, and noted probe lapses in a case stemming from a motorcycle bomb that killed six and injured 101 near a Malegaon mosque in 2008.