Delhi blast case: Centre appoints senior advocate Madhav Khurana as Special Public Prosecutor

NEW DELHI : The Union home ministry on Tuesday appointed senior advocate Madhav Khurana as the special public prosecutor for “conducting trial and other matters” in the case related to the November 10 car blast near the Red Fort that claimed 15 lives, a government order said.

Khurana has been appointed special public prosecutor (SPP) for three years on behalf of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to conduct trial and other legal matters before the NIA special court and the Delhi High Court, the order said.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 15 of the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008, read with sub-section (8) of Section 18 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, the Central government hereby appoints Madhav Khurana, senior advocate, as special public prosecutor for conducting trial and other matters related to the NIA case on behalf of the National Investigation Agency before the NIA special court and Delhi High Court for a period of three years from the date of publication of this notification or till the completion of trial of the said case, whichever is earlier,” the order issued by Joint Secretary Arvind Khare said.

The NIA has so far arrested seven key accused in the Red Fort blast case in which alleged suicide bomber Umar Un Nabi blew himself inside a Hyundai i20 car using an improvised explosive device (IED).

The matter is linked to a white-collar terror module that was unearthed by Jammu and Kashmir Police.

Umar was a resident of Pulwama district in J-K who worked as an assistant professor in the general medicine department of the Al Falah University in Faridabad, Haryana.

The NIA has also seized another vehicle belonging to Umar that is currently being examined for evidence in the case.

The NIA has so far examined 73 witnesses, including those injured in the blast. (PTI)