A special court in Mumbai has acquitted seven individuals in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, citing serious lapses in the prosecution's handling of crucial evidence. The court highlighted the disappearance of original witness statements, which were key to the case, and criticized the prosecution's failure to properly introduce secondary evidence. Many witnesses turned hostile, with some alleging coercion, and the missing documents were never recovered despite extensive searches. The court also noted that the prosecution did not follow high court instructions to verify the authenticity of photocopied statements, ultimately undermining the case against the accused.