India, March 25 -- The victims of the 2008 Malegaon blast have requested an extension in the tenure of the special sessions judge AK Lahoti, who presides over the Malegaon blast hearing at the City Civil and Sessions Court in Mumbai.

Advocate Shahid Nadeem, representing the victims, wrote to the chief justice of Bombay high court, expressing their apprehension that the judge might be transferred during the upcoming Annual General Trial, before the completion of the trial. The trial is on the verge of conclusion, with the final arguments being advanced by defence advocates.

The deadly blast took place on September 29, 2008, after an explosive device attached to a motorcycle went off at the communally sensitive town of Malegaon in Nashik ...