Malegaon blast: Mumbai court stays execution of bailable warrant against BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur

BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur

A special court in Mumbai on Wednesday stayed the execution of a bailable warrant issued against BJP Lok Sabha MP Pragya Singh Thakur, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case of Maharashtra, after it was informed that she has taken ill and admitted in a hospital here for treatment.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) court also noted that the warrant was not served on Thakur and directed her to appear before it on March 27 for recording statement.

The court had on March 11 issued a bailable warrant of Rs 10,000 against the Lok Sabha member from Bhopal for failing to appear before it despite repeated warnings.

Special Judge A K Lahoti had then directed Thakur to appear before it on March 20 and get the warrant cancelled.

The Hindutva activist, however, did not appear before the court on the given date.

On Wednesday, Thakur's advocate J P Mishra filed an application seeking a stay on the warrant issued against her.

He informed the judge that Thakur had come to Mumbai to attend the court hearing, but had to be admitted in a hospital as she fell ill after alighting at the city airport.

The judge, in his order, noted that the bailable warrant issued against the parliamentarian on March 11 was not yet served on her.

"Considering the reasons put forth in the application, the execution of the bailable warrant is hereby stayed till accused (Thakur) gets discharged from the hospital," the court said.

The court has now directed the Lok Sabha MP to appear before it on March 27 for recording her final statement under provisions of section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (dealing with power to examine accused).

A bailable warrant is a direction that if the person arrested executes a bail with sufficient sureties for attendance before the court, he/she may be released from custody.

Thakur and six others are facing trial in the more than 15-year-old case under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), an anti-terror law, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The NIA court trying the case is currently recording statements of the accused under the CrPC.

Six people were killed and more than 100 injured when an explosive device strapped on a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, a town about 200 km from Mumbai in north Maharashtra, on September 29, 2008.

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad initially probed the case before it was transferred to the NIA in 2011.