The special judge presiding over the has been transferred to Nashik, days before he was likely to reserve the matter for judgement, PTI reported on Sunday.

Special Judge AK Lahoti is the fifth judge to be transferred in the 17-year-old case, in which Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pragya Singh Thakur is the prime accused.

On September 29, 2008, six persons were killed and 100 injured when an explosive device strapped to a two-wheeler went off near a mosque in north Maharashtra’s Malegaon.

, a former MP, is out on bail. Besides her, , Major Ramesh Upadhyay, Sameer Kulkarni, Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi and Sudhakar Chaturvedi are facing trial in the case.

They have been of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the Indian Penal Code, including for murder.

Lahoti is among 222 judges who were transferred as per a notification issued by the Registrar General of the on Saturday, reported The Indian Express.

The typical tenure for a judge in one court is three years. Lahoti had held this post since June 2022.

During the last hearing in the case on Saturday, Lahoti directed that arguments should be wrapped by April 15. He was expected to reserve the matter for judgement the following day, PTI quoted a defence lawyer as...