In Brief
Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit was arrested in connection with the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast that killed six and injured about 100 people. He was charged under terrorism, criminal conspiracy, and weapons laws. The ATS charged him as a main conspirator behind the blast. However, when the NIA took over the investigation, they filed a supplementary charge sheet with significant contradictions to the ATS version, dropping MCOCA charges and noting witness retractions. Key witnesses claimed ATS had tortured them and fabricated confessions. The Supreme Court held that contradictions between the two agency charge sheets must be tested at trial, not resolved at bail stage. Given the long imprisonment (8.5 years), witness retractions, allegations of evidence planting, and Purohit's claim of acting in his capacity as a Military Intelligence officer, the Court granted bail subject to conditions, emphasizing that the discretion to grant bail must be exercised judiciously and the bail decision would not prejudge the trial on merits."
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