Key Points:
After 17 years of legal battles, the Army promoted Col Shrikant Purohit to Brigadier. This move restores his rank and extends his service until 2028.
A Special NIA Court acquitted him in July 2025, ruling that prosecutors failed to provide proof. This cleared his name from the 2008 Malegaon case.
The Armed Forces Tribunal played a huge part by stopping his retirement in March, allowing the Army to finally process his long-overdue promotions.
In a significant move, the Indian Army has cleared Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit for promotion to the rank of Brigadier on Friday, April 11, 2026. This decision effectively restores his career trajectory after it was frozen for nearly 17 years due to his alleged involvement in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.
The promotion comes just days after the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) stepped in to stop his scheduled retirement on March 31, 2026. Since the retirement age for a Brigadier is 56, which is two years higher than a Colonel, this promotion allows him to continue serving in the Army until 2028.
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On September 29, 2008, a bomb hidden on a motorcycle exploded near a mosque in Malegaon, Maharashtra. The blast killed six people and injured over 100. In November 2008, Shrikant Purohit, then a Lieutenant Colonel in Military Intelligence was arrested. He became the first serving Indian Army officer to be charged with terrorism.
The arrest came after investigations by a special team of Maharashtra's Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) was initiated to probe the incident. However, the case was later transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on April 1, 2011.
Investigation agencies initially claimed he was a key member of a radical group called Abhinav Bharat. They alleged he provided the explosives (RDX) and helped plan the attack. However, Col Purohit always maintained his innocence. He argued that he hadn't joined radical groups, but had infiltrated them as part of his job as an intelligence officer. He claimed he was gathering info for the Army and had reported everything to his superiors.
After spending about nine years in jail, the Supreme Court granted him bail on August 21, 2017, noting that there were material contradictions in the evidence against him. Throughout the trial, the Indian Army’s internal inquiries suggested his actions were consistent with his duties as an intelligence officer. They never dismissed him, though he was under suspension for years.
The real turning point happened last year. A Special NIA Court acquitted Purohit and others (including former MP Pragya Thakur) on July 31, 2025. The Court ruled that the prosecution failed to provide "cogent evidence" and that suspicion alone isn't enough for a conviction. After being cleared, he was promoted to full Colonel in September 2025.
He subsequently moved the Tribunal stating that he had missed years of seniority. The recent order acknowledges that the illegal and fabricated implications robbed him of his natural career progression.
With this latest promotion, the Army has essentially signaled that it stands by the Court's verdict and is rectifying the years of professional loss he faced while the trial dragged on.
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