The armed forces tribunal has directed the Army to reconvene the court of inquiry against Lt. Col. Shrikant Prasad Purohit, accused in the Malegaon blast, holding that the probe against him “suffers from the vice of irregularity”.
Pronouncing verdict on a petition by Purohit, who was arrested in November 2007, Justice S.S. Kulshreshtha observed that certain witnesses were examined by the Army in the absence of Purohit, who had “no opportunity to cross-examine them”, this being a violation of “Army Rule 180”.
This regulation prescribes that officers and personnel whose military reputation is being questioned in courts of inquiry should have mandatory presence there and also be allowed to cross-examine witnesses.
The court of inquiry started on April 7, 2009 and ended on September 1, 2010, after recording the statements of all witnesses. It reportedly recommended that Purohit be dismissed from service.
“From the perusal of the entire material on record, it appears certain witnesses were examined on September 1, 2010, wherein Purohit had no opportunity to cross-examine them,” the bench observed.
Purohit was undergoing an advanced course in Arabic in an Army institution when he was arrested for allegedly being involved in the September 29, 2008 terror attack in Malegaon, and he has been in jail since then. The explosions, allegedly carried out by Hindu extremists, left seven people dead and scores of others injured.
Purohit served in 31 counter-insurgency unit after shifting to military intelligence from the infantry.