People who destabilise country have no religion, says high court

People who destabilise the country can have no religion, the Bombay high court said on Monday, while hearing the bail plea of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, one of the prime accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts. The hearing will continue on Tuesday. Mohan K Korappath reports.

People who destabilise the country can have no religion, the Bombay high court said on Monday, while hearing the bail plea of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, one of the prime accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts. The hearing will continue on Tuesday.

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Thakur, who has been diagnosed with cancer, had sought bail on medical grounds. While the National Investigation Agency had offered to get Sadhvi admitted to the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, she refused to undergo treatment in police custody.

Senior counsel Mahesh Jethmalani said that Thakur has made no confession and there is no other evidence against her. Jethmalani submitted that statements of other co-accused, which he claimed cannot be used as evidence against her.

During the argument, Jethmalani mentioned there are Hindu and Muslim terror groups. Citing the press releases issued by the US and UN on the involvement of David Headley in the Samjhauta Express attack of 2007, Jethmalani said that in some cases, there is a joint venture between the two terror groups.

"People who want to destabilise the country have no religion," justice RC Chavan said.

Sadhvi is one of the prime accused in the September 29, 2008 blasts, in which six persons were killed and 100 injured.

On January 19, 2009, the state police had filed a charge sheet naming Lt Col Prasad Purohit as the main conspirator who provided the explosives and Thakur for finding people who planted the explosives.