Special National Investigation Agency court judge Ravinder Reddy resigned on Monday, hours after he acquitted all the accused in the decade-old Mecca Masjid blast case, NDTV reported. It is not clear why the judge submitted his resignation.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen President Asaduddin Owaisi, who had earlier blamed the agency for failing to properly prosecute the accused, said Reddy’s decision was intriguing.

Nine people were killed and 58 were injured on May 18, 2007, after an improvised explosive device ripped through the mosque during Friday prayers.

The Hyderabad Police had carried out the initial inquiry before handing over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation, which filed a chargesheet against 10 accused – all members of right-wing groups. The National Investigation Agency took over the case from the CBI in 2011.

Only five of the 10 people were arrested and faced trial. They are Devendra Gupta, Lokesh Sharma, Aseemanand alias Naba Kumar Sarkar, Bharat Mohanlal Rateshwar alias Bharat Bhai and Rajendra Chowdhary. One of the accused – Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Sunil Joshi was murdered – in December 2007 while former RSS member Sandeep V Dange and RSS activist Ramchandra Kalsangra are absconding. Authorities are still investigating Parmar and Amith Chowhan.