Hyderabad: The resignation of National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court judge Ravinder Reddy, who delivered the verdict in Mecca Masjid blast case, has been rejected by High Court of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. According to agencies report, he has been asked to return to his duties immediately.
Special Judge K Ravinder Reddy’s resignation on April 16, soon after the acquittal of the five accused, including Swami Aseemanand, in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast case had surprised one and all.
Nine people had been killed and 58 hurt when a pipe bomb ripped through the historic mosque in Hyderabad on May 18, 2007. Five others had been killed later as police opened fire to quell a rioting mob.
Reddy handed over his resignation to the Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court. He cited personal reasons for his resignation, and said it had nothing to do with Monday’s judgment. He said had been considering resigning for quite some time, a judicial officer told news agency PTI.
The others who were acquitted in the 11-year-old case because of lack of evidence were former RSS worker from Rajasthan, Devendra, Gupta, two former RSS workers from Madhya Pradesh, Lokesh Sharma and Rajender Chowdhary, besides Aseemanand’s alleged associate Bharat Mohanlal Rateshwar.