Mecca Masjid Case: NIA Judge’s Resignation Refused, to Resume Work

Swami Aseemanand and four other accused were acquitted in the blast case on 16 April.

Ravindra Reddy ordered the acquittals of Swami Aseemanand and four other accused in the Mecca Masjid blast case.

(Photo: ANI)

Resignation of the special National Investigative Agency (NIA) court judge, who passed the verdict recently in Hyderabad’s Mecca Masjid blast case, was rejected by a High Court on Thursday, 19 April.

More than a decade after the bomb blast that killed nine at the historic mosque in Hyderabad, a NIA court on 16 April acquitted all accused, including Hindu right-wing leader Swami Aseemanand.

Within hours of the judgment, Ravindra Reddy, the judge who ordered the acquittals, resigned, citing "personal reasons". However, on Thursday 19 April, the High Court of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana rejected his resignation, ANI reported.

Reddy proceeded on a 15-day leave after putting in his papers. Now, as per NDTV , that too has been cancelled and he has been asked to return to work immediately.

Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi termed the fourth additional metropolitan sessions judge’s abrupt decision as “intriguing.”

In the wake of the Mecca Masjid bomb blast verdict, security was beefed up for the judge. “There is no specific alert, but following the verdict, security has been stepped up around his house,” a senior police official told PTI.

(With inputs from NDTV and ANI)

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