2008 Malegaon blast case: Victims seek extension of tenure of present trial judge in Mumbai

Victims of the Malegaon blast case of 2008 have written to Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court Dipankar Datta requesting for an extension of the tenure of Special Judge PR Sitre till the completion of the trial in the case..The victims stated that Judge Sitre is fully conversant with the records of the case, having examined over 100 witnesses over the course of 1 year and 4 months. Any new judge would take some time to become conversant with the bulky records and pleadings in the case, it was pointed out.“The case has a chequered history with litigation ongoing in Trial Court, High Court and Supreme Court with many questions of law yet to be decided. Two investigating agencies have filed chargesheets which run into thousands of pages. Judge Sitre is already privy with the complexity of the matter and the proceedings of the present matter. In addition, there are a total of 246 witnesses already examined and not many witnesses remain to be examined,” the letter stated..The trial in the Malegaon blast case commenced in 2009. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament Sadhvi Pragyasingh Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit are among the accused who have been facing trial in the case.In 2016, the case was transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the trial was transferred to a special judge appointed under the NIA Act.By an order of the Supreme Court, the Bombay High Court was directed to appoint a special judge for exclusively hearing this case and disposing of the same in an expeditious manner.In light of this, in July 2015, the Central government appointed Additional Sessions Judge SD Tekale to conduct the trial. After Judge Tekale was transferred, Additional Sessions Judge SV Padalkar was appointed, and after his retirement, Judge Sitre started hearing the matter in August 2020..After the retirement of Judge Padalkar, who examined 140 witnesses, Judge Sitre took charge and started recording evidence. Even as the COVID-19 pandemic hampered the functioning of courts across the country, he recorded the statements of more than 100 witnesses, the letter pointed out..Judge Sitre is now slated to be transferred to Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra from Mumbai as per the Annual General Transfer list of 2022, which is issued by the Chief Justice along with the administrative judges of the High Court.The victims addressed a letter through Advocate Shahid Nadeem on April 16, requesting that the tenure of the Special judge be extended.“He (Judge Sitre) has with utmost dignity and impartiality, upholding the principles of natural justice and fair trial, presided over the case in a fair and independent manner- giving the accused, the victims and the prosecutor no opportunity to complain,” the letter said in conclusion requesting that his transfer be halted immediately..The 5-page letter also stated that transferring the present judge would further delay the trial which is already ongoing for over a decade.“For a decade, the matter was moving at a snail's pace and there was no sign of the trial proceeding despite several orders by the Hon'ble Bombay High Court and Supreme Court for expeditious hearing. The victims were beginning to lose hope in the trial process, but once Judge Padalkar took charge, he immediately proceeded with the trial tackling all the tactics of the accused persons to keep the trial in abeyance. Judge Sitre continued to expeditiously try the matter in all fairness and objectivity.” the letter pointed out..[Read letter]