Attend court once a week, Malegaon accused Pragya told

MUMBAI: Upset with their absence during hearings, the special NIA court on Friday directed all accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, including Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Shrikant Purohit, to be present at least once a week. All the accused are currently out on bail.
The court also rejected a plea by the father of one of the six victims seeking the presence of ATS, the first investigating agency in the case, during the trial.
“It appears the accused do not attend court on one ground or the other and prayers in all the applications are one and the same,” said special judge V S Padalkar. Only accused Sameer Kulkarni regularly attends court. Considering the charges against the accused, it would not be proper for them to remain absent forever, said the judge. If the accused seek exemption, their pleas should be filed by 11am and in the absence of a cogent reason, the court has the power to take appropriate action.
The main reason for exemption for all, except Sudhakar Dwiwedi, has been that they did not want to cross-examine witnesses. The witnesses so far included the injured and those related to the inquest panchnamas and post-mortem reports. The court pointed out the accused have not stated on record that they did not want to cross-examine the remaining witnesses.
Earlier this week, Nisar Bilal, 59, whose son Sayyed Ahmed was killed in the September 29, 2008, blast, said that for a fair trial, it was pertinent that the ATS be present to assist the NIA’s special public prosecutor and the court.
Rejecting his plea, the court said only an “intervenor” is allowed to assist the prosecution and can submit pleas only through prosecution. “After framing of charges, during the trial, nobody from ATS was present during examination of witnesses. It is… for ATS to depute officers and decide whether they can remain present. It is none of the business of the court to depute an ATS officer to assist the (NIA) public prosecutor,” said the court.