A Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph on Monday asked the Bombay High Court to deal with a petition by Malegaon blasts accused Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Purohit, PTI reported.

Purohit has claimed there is no valid sanction for his prosecution under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. The bench asked the High Court to hear the plea on November 21.

On October 29, the High Court had refused to stay the proceedings of the National Investigation Agency in the case. Earlier that month, an NIA court had rejected Purohit’s petition demanding that charges against him under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act be dropped.

As many as six people were killed and more than 100 were injured when an explosive device placed on a motorbike blew up near a mosque in Maharashtra’s Malegaon town on September 29, 2008. On November 2, a special court commenced the formal trial against Purohit, Pragya Singh Thakur and five other accused in the case.