The Supreme Court has directed the Rajasthan High Court to reopen and hear on merits the victim’s criminal appeal in the 2007 Ajmer Dargah blast case, setting aside procedural hurdles related to delay and earlier dismissal of the appeal.
The order was passed by a Bench comprising Justices M.M. Sunderesh and Satish Chandra Sharma on a petition filed by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), which represents the complainant, Syed Sarwar Chishty, a Khadim of the Ajmer Sharif Dargah.
The apex court requested the Rajasthan High Court to hear and dispose of the appeal on merits, notwithstanding any delay in filing or previous orders dismissing the case on technical grounds. The direction came in an interim order passed in Diary No. 51829/2025.
The appeal pertains to D.B. Criminal Appeal No. 379/2017, which challenged the acquittal of seven accused – Lokesh Sharma, Chandrashekhar Leve, Mukesh Vasani, Harshad alias Munna, Naba Kumar Sarkar alias Swami Aseemanand, Mafat alias Mehul, and Bharat Mohanlal Rateshwar – in connection with the Ajmer Dargah blast of October 11, 2007….
APCR’s legal team, comprising Senior Advocate Abhay Mahadeo Thipsay and Advocates SowjhanyaShankaran, Siddharth Satija, and M. Huzaifa, argued before the Supreme Court that a rigid bar on condonation of delay in NIA appeals violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
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