Debangana Ray
Published on August 21, 2022 at 21:43 IST
Bombay High Court’s Judge Revati Mohite Dere recused from hearing cases regarding the Malegaon blasts in 2008 after a counsel for one of the accused contended that the judge had represented NIA as a counsel in the case.
The accused informed the bench that he had appeared as a counsel for the NIA in 2011. However, the judge thought that it will be better to recuse from hearing regarding the matters.
The court was deliberating on a plea filed by Kulkarni challenging an order by the special NIA court which permitted the examination of a witness whose name was not on the prosecution list.
The bench had conducted seven hearings on petitions regarding the case. Interestingly, the bench had previously expressed its hesitation to intervene with the lower court order.
The division bench led by Justice Revati had earlier directed the NIA Court to submit reports to the High Court regarding the progress of the trial.
The trial was in relation to a blast which happened after a bomb which was strapped to a motorcycle went off in the Malegaon market premises in 2008, which led to the death of 40 people and injured more than 100.