Supreme Court orders Raj HC to review Ajmer Dargah blast appeals

Jaipur: In a pivotal move regarding the 2007 Ajmer Dargah blast case, the Supreme Court has instructed Rajasthan High Court to evaluate the appeal concerning the incident based on its merits, disregarding the delay in filing by the victims' side.The directive was issued by a bench consisting of Justice M M Sundresh and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma on Dec 11, following a petition from Syed Sarwar Chishty, a Khadim of the Ajmer Sharif Dargah and the complainant in the case. The order was made public on Saturday. The appeal in question contests the acquittal of seven individuals linked to the blast that occurred on Oct 11, 2007, shortly after iftar prayers during Ramadan at the Ajmer Sharif Dargah.
The explosion claimed three lives and injured several others. In 2017, a special court of the National Investigation Agency convicted Bhavesh Patel and Devendra Gupta, sentencing them to life imprisonment, while others, including Lokesh Sharma, Chandrashekhar Leve, Mukesh Vasani, Harshad alias Munna, Naba Kumar Sarkar alias Swami Aseemanand, Mafat alias Mehul, and Bharat Mohanlal Rateshwar, were acquitted."The appeal challenges the acquittal of seven accused and the sentencing of the two convicted. Previously, the high court ruled that the delay of over 90 days in filing the appeal could not be excused despite the case being pending for nearly five years," said Shiv Mangal Sharma, additional advocate general for the Rajasthan govt.Syed Sarwar Chishty contested this decision, arguing before the Supreme Court that a strict prohibition on condoning delays in appeals under the NIA Act infringes upon Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. "On Nov 3, 2025, the Supreme Court issued a notice to us. Now, the court has directed HC to consider the appeal on its merits," Sharma stated.The Supreme Court is scheduled to revisit the matter for further deliberation on March 24, 2026.

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