Malegaon blast case: Special NIA judge in transfer list; families of victims urge Bombay HC to retain Judge Lahoti

The lawyer representing the families of the blast victims had earlier written to the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, urging his intervention to retain Judge Lahoti in Mumbai.

Judge AK Lahoti has been transferred from the Mumbai court to Nashik. The general transfer list released by the Bombay HC names more than 200 district judges. The judges are directed to assume office on June 9, after the court reopens for summer vacation.

Earlier, on March 20, the lawyer representing the victims' families wrote to Bombay Chief Justice Alok Aradhe urging his intervention to retain Judge Lahoti, as the arguments on the 2008 Malegaon case are almost over.

"The present letter is a sincere request on behalf of the victims to retain the Hon'ble Special Judge Shri A K Lahoti at the Hon'ble City Civil and Sessions Court for Greater Bombay, at Mumbai," read the lawyer's letter.

"It is a matter of practice that Hon'ble Addl. Sessions Judges are posted to one Sessions Division or Station for a period of 2 to 3 years. AK Lahoti has been posted to the Hon'ble City Civil and Sessions Court for Greater Bombay, Mumbai, since June 2022. As such, he shall complete 3 years of his tenure at Bombay (Mumbai) in the coming months," the letter added.

The letter highlighted that the victims' families are "apprehensive" about Judge Lahoti's transfer, adding, "The Victims are apprehensive that he may be transferred to another station during the upcoming Annual General Transfers without concluding the trial."

With the blasts trial almost over, people wonder if the court led by Judge Lahoti will be able to deliver its judgment before the summer vacations starting in May. Judge AK Lahoti is the 5th special judge who has presided the matter of Malegaon 2008 blasts case in the designated Special NIA court. On September 29, 2008, six people were killed and several others injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle detonated near a mosque in Malegaon City, Nashik. The case was initially investigated by the Maharashtra ATS before being transferred to the NIA in 2011. (ANI)