Application filed to restrain Sadhvi Pragya from contesting Lok Sabha elections, Court asks for NIA reply

In a significant development, the NIA Court at Mumbai has sought the reply of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in an application filed to restrain Sadhvi Pragya from contesting the ongoing Lok Sabha elections..Nisar Ahmed Sayyed Bilal, the father of one of the victims of the 2008 Malegaon blasts, has filed an application in the NIA Court, where the case against Sadhvi Pragya and other accused is being heard. Sadhvi Pragya was recently given a ticket by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to contest the Lok Sabha elections from the Bhopal constituency..In his application, Bilal points out that Pragya was granted conditional bail on medical grounds by the Bombay High Court in 2017. One of the conditions imposed was that Pragya would have to be present for hearings of the case. However, he claims that she has not been attending court hearings on the pretext of ill health..“…was enlarged on Conditional bail and she is not attending hearing of this court on the pretext that she is unwell and she is “Breast Cancer Patient” but on the contrary she has been seen participating in various programs and giving objectionable & instigating speeches since her release from Jail.”.Read Also: Malegaon Blast: Sadhvi Pragya’s bail challenged in the Supreme Court.It is further stated,.“That intervener would further submits that, A-1 got bail on health ground but clearly healthy enough to fight elections in the crippling summer heat which means she has misguided the Hon’ble Court.”.Moreover, it is stated that though the NIA gave a clean chit to Pragya, the Court has not exonerated her in the matter; it had framed charges against her in October 2018. The application further points out that an appeal had been filed in the Supreme Court against the High Court’s grant of bail to Pragya. The same was filed by Bilal himself, and is still pending in the Apex Court. On these grounds, the intervener has sought a direction to restrain Sadhvi Pragya from contesting the Lok Sabha elections, and to direct her to attend the court hearings which are being conducted on a day-to-day basis..Sadhvi Pragya is one of the accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts that claimed the lives of ten people and injured over 80 others..Bar & Bench is available on WhatsApp. For real-time updates on stories, Click here to subscribe to our WhatsApp.