Court rejects plea seeking ban of Pragya Thakur

In a major relief to Pragya Singh Thakur, the National Investigation Agency Court (NIA) on Wednesday refused to restrain Sadhvi from contesting Lok Sabha elections on Wednesday. An application was filed in the court challenging Sadhvi Pragya's nomination.

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."

Pragya's father accused Thakur for Malegaon blast, who is currently out on bail, is contesting the Lok Sabha poll from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh on the BJP's ticket.

The NIA later gave Thakur a clean chit, but the court did not discharge Thakur. It dropped charges against her under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), but she is still facing trial under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Indian Penal Code sections.