20 Years On, No Trial: Bombay High Court Discharges Final Four in Malegaon Blasts Case

The Bombay High Court discharged Lokesh Sharma, Dhan Singh, Manohar Narwaria, and Rajendra Chaudhary, concluding the two-decade-long prosecution. The court noted the inability to reconcile the competing ATS and NIA narratives and the failure to explain or disprove the initial forensic evidence, resulting in no active trial or viable suspects.

The NIA's Version 2.0 narrative did not legally supersede Version 1.0. In 2016, a special court discharged the original nine accused due to lack of evidence, while the NIA's case against the newly named accused depended on retracted confessions and circumstantial links.

In 2013, the NIA filed a supplementary chargesheet naming four new accused — Manohar Narwaria, Rajendra Chaudhary, Dhan Singh, and Lokesh Sharma — alleging retaliatory strikes by right-wing elements, marking a shift from the earlier narrative.

The National Investigation Agency was tasked with a fresh probe in 2011, following a confession by Swami Aseemanand in a related case, shifting the investigation to a new narrative.

In 2007, the Central Bureau of Investigation took over the probe and ratified the ATS findings, charging nine Muslim men. The case relied on forensic elements, including purported RDX traces from a godown.

Four improvised explosive devices detonated in Malegaon, Maharashtra, near Hamidia Masjid and Bada Kabrastan during Shab-e-Baraat prayers. The explosions killed 31 people and injured 312. The site involved a textile town and became central to a long legal process.

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad filed a chargesheet attributing the blasts to the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and alleging a conspiracy with cross-border elements to incite communal tension.