Mumbai: Special NIA Court Judge AK Lahoti, who was trialed in the 2008 Malegaon Blast case, has been dispatched to Nashik a few days before the court may have retained the judgment.
The transfer order for Rahoti and other judges issued by the Mumbai High Court Registrar will take effect when it reopens after the summer vacation on June 9.
The order mentioned that the judicial officer in the transfer order “instructs (a) to complete all cases of the completed hearing by judgment and (b) should work to work to deal with all part-time cases before handing over the fees.”
At the last hearing on Saturday, Judge Rahoti directed the prosecution and defense lawyers to end the remaining arguments by April 15 and expected to retain the trial the next day.
When an explosive device tied to a motorcycle approached a mosque in Malgaon, a town about 200 kilometers from Mumbai in the Nasik district of North Maharashtra, six people were killed and more than 100 injured.
BJP leader Pragya Thakur, Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit and five others were tried on suspicion of being involved in the case.
Defendants face prosecution under the strict Illegal Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The case was initially investigated by the Maharashtra Counter-Terrorism Squad (ATS) before being transferred to the National Bureau of Investigation (NIA) in 2011.
