Ms Thakur is the accused number 1 in the case.
Less than a month after issuing a bailable warrant against her for her repeated absence in hearings related to the 2008 Malegaon blast case, a special court in Mumbai has pulled up BJP MP Pragya Thakur once again.
Ms Thakur, who is the prime accused in the case, gave the hearing a miss on Wednesday as well and the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court observed that her continued absence is hampering the trial. The Bhopal MP has repeatedly cited health reasons for not attending the hearings and the court has now directed the NIA to submit a status report on her health condition by Monday, April 8.
The BJP leader, who was given bail in the case on health grounds, has often been spotted playing cricket and basketball and dancing. She had also skipped going to court earlier after being admitted to a hospital, but had attended a public event the same day.
On September 29, 2008, an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle had exploded near a mosque in Maharashtra's Malegaon, killing 10 people and injuring over 100. Ms Thakur is accused number 1 in the case and she and six others are being tried under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and sections of the Indian Penal Code.
Issuing the bailable warrant against Ms Thakur on March 11, the court had noted, "It was specifically directed that the accused No.1 (Thakur) remain present on March 11, along with medical certificates, considering her last application. Despite aforesaid directions neither she is present nor the original medical certificate is produced on record."
Her lawyer had told the court that her doctor in Bhopal had said she was feeling dizzy and could travel at her own risk.
The court had cancelled the bailable warrant after the BJP leader had appeared before it on March 22.
During the hearing on Wednesday, the court noted that Ms Thakur's statement was being recorded under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and the dates were shared in advance. It said that she had been absent from hearings for a long time, except on March 22, and had been allowed to leave the court "considering her physical and medical condition", but had not returned to record her statement.
"The submissions of the lead special public prosecutor cannot be overlooked that at least the verification report of NIA Bhopal be called pertaining to health condition of accused no.1, as she is not appearing before the court since long and it is causing delay in trial... NIA Mumbai can make correspondence with their unit at Bhopal and verify the health condition and submit the report accordingly on or before April 8," the judge said, noting that prescription, treatment and test documents had not been submitted with her medical certificate.
The BJP has denied Ms Thakur a ticket from Bhopal for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and replaced her with former mayor Alok Sharma. Her controversial remarks, including terming Mahatma Gandhi's killer Nathuram Godse a "patriot", are seen to have contributed to her being dropped.
After the decision was announced last month, she had said she had never asked for a ticket to contest the elections and would do whatever the party asked her to.
(With PTI inputs)