Responding to The Indian Express report on Special Public Prosecutor Rohini Salian saying she had been asked by the National Investigation Agency to go “soft” on the 2008 Malegaon blasts case from the time “the new government came to power”, NIA Director General Sharad Kumar on Thursday said there was “no question of going soft” on any accused.

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“The trial in the case still hasn’t started, and there is absolutely no question of going soft or hard on anyone. We had applied for custodial interrogation of three accused, and this is pending before the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, our investigations are on. None of our officers have met her (Salian) and said anything inappropriate. I have verified this,” Kumar said.

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In a press release Thursday evening, the NIA said: “The mainstream work of PP (public prosecutor) starts only after the investigating agency files chargesheet in a trial court. NIA Special Court proceedings during the state of investigation are of miscellaneous nature and usually the branch PPs deal with the same except when a complex legal matter is involved which warrant the services of Spl PP.”

“The Malegaon blast case of 2008, mentioned by Ms Rohini Salian in her interview to The Indian Express, has not yet reached the trial stage.

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Therefore, it is incorrect to infer that Ms Salian was being bypassed for court appearances. Further, NIA completely denies the issuance of inappropriate briefing by any officer of the agency to the Spl PP of creating impediments in her prosecution work of NIA cases she has been handling,” the NIA said.

In an interview to The Indian Express, Salian said that soon after the NDA government came to power last year, she got a call from an officer of the NIA — the agency is investigating cases in which alleged Hindu extremists are accused. “He didn’t want to talk over the phone. He came and said to me that there is a message that I should go soft,” Salian said.

She said that on June 12, just before one of the regular hearings in the case in the sessions court, she was told by the same NIA officer that “higher-ups” did not want her to appear in the court for the State of Maharashtra and that another advocate would attend the proceedings. “The meaning (of that message from the officer) is very clear — don’t get us favourable orders.”

Salian said she wanted the NIA to officially denotify her so that she would be free to take up other cases, against the NIA if need be.

In a letter dated June 16 to the NIA headquarters, the agency’s Mumbai branch recommended denotification of Salian and two other Special PPs in Goa and Gujarat. This was in accordance with a decision on January 12 by a Home Ministry-appointed committee to denotify Special PPs who have completed five year or more as Special PPs for NIA, or are in the last quarter of completing five years, NIA officers said.

“This a normal process, and the Special PPs have not been denotified yet, as it is still being dealt with on the file,” an NIA officer said.

The NIA press release stated that Salian will complete five years on August 31. According to the NIA, the committee is chaired by the NIA’s DG and includes a Joint Secretary from the MHA and the NIA’s legal adviser. It scrutinises applications received for empanelment and recommends candidates to the MHA, which notifies the panel of Special PPs from amongst those recommended.

During the January 12 meeting of the committee, recommendations for fresh empanelments were made, and the MHA subsequently notified 33 new Special PPs through its notification on May 25, which included five for Maharashtra, the NIA said.

“During the same meeting, the designated committee had also decided that the performance, suitability and availability of Spl PPs who are in the panels of five years or more or who are in the last quarter of completing five years, will be assessed and if need be, recommendations be made for denotifying them. In compliance of the decision of the designated committee, heads of NIA branches were asked to send their recommendations for denotification,” the NIA release stated.