Judge who gave Mecca Masjid blast verdict resigns

New Delhi: In a twist to Mecca Masjid blast case, NIA Judge who gave verdict on Monday resigned. Ravindra Reddy quitted the post hours after acquitting all five Hindu activists accused in the 2011 bomb blast at the historic place which had left nine worshippers dead.

Citing personal reasons, he has submitted his resignation to the Andhra chief justice.

Nearly 11 years after a bomb blast killed nine worshippers at the historic Mecca Masjid here, a special NIA court on Monday acquitted all five Hindu activist accused.

Ravinder Reddy, who is President of the Telangana Judges Association, along with some other judges were suspended by the High Court in 2016 for protesting over the allocation of judges between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and the demand for setting up a separate high court for Telangana.

The National Investigation Agency court held that none of the charges framed against the accused, including Swamy Aseemanand, had been proved, a lawyer for one of the accused told reporters outside the Nampally criminal court complex.

Righwing Hindu activists Nabakumar Sarkar alias Swamy Aseemanand, Devender Gupta, Lokesh Sharma, Bharat Mohanlal Rateshwar alias Bharat Bhai and Rajender Chowdhary, against whom the charges were framed, were all acquitted.

Also read: All accused in Makkah Masjid blast case acquitted