Malegaon blast case: Court rejects NIA's plea for in-camera proceedings

A Special court in Mumbai on Tuesday rejected the application filed by National Investigation Agency (NIA) for in-camera proceedings of the 2008 Malegaon blast case, in which BJP lawmaker Pragya Singh Thakur is an accused.

Several journalists had earlier moved the court seeking intervention in the NIA's application which seeks to bar media from reporting on the case.

The court has, however, levied certain restrictions on reporting by the media. The media persons can no more conduct a debate, opine or write an editorial piece on the case.

The journalist attending the proceedings will have to submit their identity cards to the court and submit an affidavit of interviews taken of any parties in the case.

The court also reserved the right to allow either full or partial proceedings to be reported of truncated witnesses and barred anyone from using any electronic device in the court.

Six people were killed and over 100 injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a town in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008.

Besides Thakur, Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Samir Kulkarni are also accused in the case.

They have been charged under various sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), the Explosive Substances Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).