On Thursday, Mumbai’s special NIA court acquitted all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, stating that the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. The court also directed the Maharashtra government to provide Rs 2 lakh compensation to the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to those injured in the blast.

The accused included former MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Major (Retd) Ramesh Upadhyay, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhankar Dhar Dwivedi (also known as Shankaracharya) and Sameer Kulkarni.

“All bail bonds stand cancelled and sureties are discharged,” the court declared in its verdict, reported news agency ANI.