Court Denies 2008 Malegaon Blast Accused An Honorific Prefix To His Name

An anti-terror NIA court in Mumbai on Tuesday rejected the demand of an accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case to have honorific 'Shri' prefixed to his name.

"The court has rejected the application moved by Dayanand Pandey alias Shankaracharya seeking to add 'Shri' before his name," said special public prosecutor Avinash Rasal.

Mr Pandey had moved the court saying the honorific should be added to his name as he has the right to dignity and was not convicted by any court in any case.

Mr Rasal, however, cited a circular issued recently by the Bombay High Court stating that no prefixes should be added before the name of any litigant.

".. In some cases concerning former prime ministers, 'Shri' was not added before their names," Mr Rasal added.
Accepting Mr Rasal's argument, the special court judge SD Tekale rejected Pandey's application.

Six people were killed and nearly 100 others injured when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle exploded in Malegaon town in Nashik district on September 29, 2008.

Twelve people, including Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, were arrested in connection with the blast.

They were booked under stringent provisions of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), besides under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).