Special NIA Court exempts BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur from appearing this week

The NIA court on Friday allowed Malegaon blast case accused and Bhopal MP Pragya Thakur's application to be exempted from appearing in court on grounds that the newly elected legislator was required to attend the ongoing Parliament Session.

The application was filed by Thakur's lawyer seeking exemption from court's proceedings on the grounds of ongoing Parliament session and the need for Thakur's presence in the Parliament as a Member Parliament.

As per court's orders, Thakur now has to appear before the court next week.

The Court on Thursday rejected Thakur's plea for a permanent exemption from appearing in the court saying, "The health grounds, not having a house near Mumbai, attending parliament session, etc were not reasonable grounds."

Pragya Thakur's counsel told the court that as an MP, she needs to attend the Parliament and listen to the party whip. However, there was no paperwork.

The judge noted that attending Parliament is necessary and granted an exemption to Thakur for Thursday. It also said that the court may consider a fresh application if filed on Friday.

The NIA court had on June 3 directed Thakur and all other accused in the case to appear before it once a week.