The Bombay High Court has set aside an order framing charges against four accused in the 2006 Malegaon blast case, holding that there was no sufficient material to proceed against them.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Shyam Chandak allowed appeals filed under Section 21 of the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008, challenging the September 30, 2025 order of the Special NIA Court which had framed charges under multiple provisions of the IPC, UAPA and explosive laws.
The case relates to the September 8, 2006 Malegaon blasts, which resulted in 31 deaths and over 300 injuries. The appellants were sought to be prosecuted based on material collected during further investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The High Court found that the prosecution case rested largely on inadmissible disclosure statements, retracted confessions and weak circumstantial evidence, which could not justify framing of charges. It also noted that the Test Identification Parade conducted several years after the incident lacked evidentiary value.
Importantly, the Court highlighted serious inconsistencies between the earlier investigations by the ATS/CBI and the subsequent NIA probe, observing that the two versions of the case were irreconcilable.
Observing that a trial court cannot act as a “mere post office” while framing charges, the Bench held that there was no sufficient ground to proceed against the accused.
Accordingly, the Court set aside the order framing charges and discharged the appellants, also relieving them of their bail obligations.
Appearances:
Senior Advocate Girish Kulkarni along with Advocates Abhishek Kunchikor, Himanshu Indise and Sujay Shingade appeared for the appellants in Criminal Appeal (Stamp) No. 2772 of 2026.
Advocate Kaushik Mhatre, along with Advocates Sanket Dhawan, Prakash Salsingikar, Vighneswar Subramanian and Himanshu Mane, appeared for the appellants in Criminal Appeal No. 107 of 2026.
Advocate Manisha Jagtap appeared for the Union of India.
Additional Solicitor General Anil C. Singh, along with Special Public Prosecutor Chintan Shah and Advocates Krishnakant Deshmukh and Adarsh Vyas, appeared for the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Advocate Kuldeep Patil, along with Advocates Anay Joshi, Digvijay Kachare, Saili Dhuru, Sumitkumar Nimbalkar and Sanika Joshi, appeared for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Mrs. M. M. Deshmukh, In-Charge Public Prosecutor, along with Additional Public Prosecutor K. V. Saste, appeared for the State.
