Purohit, a serving army officer, had sought discharge in the case on the ground that he had attended meetings of Abhinav Bharat – where conspiracy for the blasts were hatched – on the instruction of his superior officers.
However, a bench of Justices AS Gadkari and PD Naik asked why Colonel Purohit did not do anything to prevent the blasts if he knew about it.
“If the contention of the Appellant that, he was directed to perform official duty to gather information regarding ‘Abhinav Bharat’ is to be accepted then the question remains to be answered that, why he did not avert the bomb blast in the civilian locality of Malegaon which caused loss of life of six innocent persons and severe to grievous injuries to about 100 persons. Even otherwise indulging into an activity of a bomb explosion causing death of six persons is not an act done by the Appellant in his official duty,” the bench said.
These observations were made the Court in its order rejecting a discharge petition filed by Purohit.
Source: Barandbench
