Soon after the verdict, celebrations broke out outside Lt Colonel Purohit's residence, where supporters burst firecrackers and distributed sweets to mark the court's decision.
Family members of victims of the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast have challenged the acquittal of the accused, including Pragya Singh Thakur and Prasad Purohit, in the Bombay High Court, citing faulty investigation and the nature of conspiracy.
Here's the list of the seven accused who faced trial in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
The Supreme Court has junked a plea filed by Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit seeking discharge in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
The high court was hearing Purohit's application seeking that all charges against him in the case be dropped. Six people were killed and 100 others injured when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon city in Nashik district of Maharashtra on September 29, 2008.
Sadhvi Pragya had moved the court earlier this month seeking her discharge in the Malegoan bomb blast case.
The Bombay high court on Wednesday rejected the bail plea of 2008 Malegaon blast accused Lt Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit but allowed liberty to co-accused Ajay Rahirkar on certain conditions.
Shyam Apte, an engineer who returned to India after spending 25 years in the United States and has been staying in Pune since the last one decade since his retirement, was grilled for three hours by ATS officials at his residence in Nav Sahyadri area of the city on Friday last. His name figured in the narco test of Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit
"I have spent nine years in jail and have suffered a lot. Though I have been reinstated in service, this is an exception since, I have a good record," Shivade said on behalf of Purohit.
The NIA has recorded the statement of the owner of a hotel in Panchmarhi in this regard.
The bench refused Purohit's request for staying the proceedings in the trial court, noting that in the past, both the Supreme Court and the Bombay HC had passed orders directing the trial court to expedite the hearing in the case.
"All our investigation agencies have full-fledged autonomy...There is no interference from our side or from the government's side," he said while interacting with reporters on the sidelines of a Border Security Force event in New Delhi.
The Congress on Friday termed the National Investigation Agecy's decision to drop all charges against Sadhvi Pragya Thakur was a vindication of the disclosure made by former special public prosecutor.
The bench, however, granted Purohit the liberty to raise his contentions before the trial court and said it is not expressing any opinion on his petition.
During investigation, 'sufficient evidences have not been found against' Pragya Singh Thakur and five others, the NIA said, adding it has submitted in the chargesheet 'that the prosecution against them is not maintainable'.
Rohini Salian has claimed that the NIA had told her not to appear in the case and that she was facing pressure to go easy on the accused.
'He has terror charges against him. And for an army officer, it's just terrible.'
'My husband will never forget the torture nor forgive those responsible for it.'
Pragya Singh Thakur remained at the back of the courtroom during Tuesday's framing of the charges, her face serene, quite different from the fiery person one read about or saw on television. But once the day's proceedings were over and she was wheeled out, the sadhvi decided she actually was very keen to meet the media and headed right out into the melee, says Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com.
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