2008 Malegaon blast case: Principal judge asks court to expedite trial

The principal sessions judge on Monday directed the special judge hearing the 2008 Malegaon blast case to expedite the trial and not grant unnecessary adjournments in the case

The principal sessions judge on Monday directed the special judge hearing the 2008 Malegaon blast case to expedite the trial and not grant unnecessary adjournments in the case.

Principal sessions judge SB Agrawal was hearing an application filed by one of the accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case.

Principal sessions judge SB Agrawal was hearing an application filed by one of the accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case — Sameer Kulkarni — seeking to transfer the case to another judge on the ground of delay in trial. Kulkarni had, in his application filed last week, alleged the court is not working according to the scheduled work hours and time is being wasted checking records.

On Monday, while submitting to the court, Kulkarni stated that even though it has been eight months since the case was transferred, the charges have still not been framed against the accused. He further alleged the court has to work for around six to seven hours a day, but given the situation, the court does not allot even two hours for the hearing. The principal judge had previously sought a report from sessions judge Shripad D Tekale.

During the hearing on Monday, the court informed Kulkarni about the report and said that as per the report, the court has been hearing the case on a regular basis. “It shows the hearing is going on and the court has disposed of bail applications after he was assigned the case,” said justice Agrawal. Not satisfied with the reply, Kulkarni argued that most of the time is wasted in searching the records.

It is pertinent to note that the court staff have been rigorously searching for the statements of witnesses, which have allegedly been misplaced.