Don't have the powers, can't stop BJP's Pragya Singh Thakur from fighting election: NIA court

In a big relief to Pragya Singh Thakur, the BJP Lok Sabha candidate from Bhopal seat, a special NIA court on Wednesday rejected the application filed against her nomination. The special court added it can't stop Thakur from contesting the election.

An application was filed in the court challenging Sadhvi Pragya's nomination. The applicant is a father who lost his son in the 2008 Malegaon blasts and had filed a petition seeking to bar Pragya from fighting the poll.

The special court in Mumbai announced that it doesn't have any legal powers to prohibit anyone from contesting the Lok Sabha election, adding that it is the job of the electoral officers to make the decision.

The NIA court said that the Election Commission (EC) has to look into the matter.

The special court said, "The court has no power to bar anyone from contesting the election. This court is not the proper forum for this application. The bail to Sadhvi wasn't granted by this court. It is the wrong forum chosen by the applicant."

The arguments by the lawyer of Sadhvi, Prashant Maggu, highlighted that the applicant has no locus to file this application, adding that it is motivated by a hidden political agenda.

"The applicant could have gone to the Election Commission (EC) but they came to this court just to target Sadhvi to affect the proceeding of the trial. They said that the respondent lied but they didn't mention what lies. It was a well-designed application," argued Maggu.

The applicant's lawyer accused Sadhvi of lying to the court. He added that the father of the victim only wants justice and there is no want of publicity or politics by him.

He further alleged that during the hearing she'll have to be present at the court and so she had said that she is unwell, only to misguide the court. Sadhvi was seen several times campaigning and she herself has claimed that she is of better health now, added the lawyer.