In a landmark judgment, the Bombay High Court acquitted all 12 accused in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case, stating that the prosecution had “utterly failed” to prove the charges against them. This verdict marks a significant development in one of India’s most high-profile terror cases. A special bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak read out the operative part of the order, pointing out serious flaws in the prosecution’s case. The court observed that key witnesses were unreliable, identification parades were questionable, and confessional statements were extracted through torture.
2006 Mumbai Train Blasts | Bombay HC Acquits All 12 Accused
Why In News
- In a landmark judgment, the Bombay High Court acquitted all 12 accused in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case, stating that the prosecution had “utterly failed” to prove the charges against them. This verdict marks a significant development in one of India’s most high-profile terror cases. A special bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak read out the operative part of the order, pointing out serious flaws in the prosecution’s case. The court observed that key witnesses were unreliable, identification parades were questionable, and confessional statements were extracted through torture.
Background: The 2006 Mumbai Train Blasts
- On July 11, 2006, seven coordinated bomb blasts ripped through Mumbai’s suburban trains on the Western Railway line during rush hour. The serial attacks claimed 189 lives and left more than 800 injured. The bombs, planted in pressure cooker containers, targeted first-class compartments, shaking the city and prompting a massive counter-terrorism operation.
Earlier Convictions And Sentences
- In 2015, a special court convicted 12 persons involved in the case. Five of them were sentenced to death, while the remaining seven received life imprisonment. Following the convictions, the Maharashtra government petitioned the Bombay High Court to confirm the death sentences, while the convicts appealed against their convictions and sentences. After an over eight-year trial, the special court under the MCOCA awarded the death penalty to five of the convicts, and life terms to seven others in September 2015.
- The death sentences were awarded on charges of spreading terror, organised crime, criminal conspiracy and murder under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), Explosives Substances Act, 1908, MC OCA, Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Railways Act, 1989.
- The convicts are lodged at various prisons across the state, including Yerawada and Amravati central jails, for over 18 years. They filed the pleas after they were convicted by the special court, and the matter had been pending since then.
- There were 250 witnesses, including 92 prosecution witnesses, and the evidence in the case spanned over 169 volumes, and the judgments of death sentences of nearly 2,000 pages.
- Five convicts awarded the death penalty are Kamal Ahmed Mohd Vakil Ansari from Bihar, Mohammad Faisal Ataur Rahman Shaikh from Mumbai, Ehtesham Qutubuddin Siddique from Thane, Naveed Hussain Khan from Secunderabad, and Asif Khan Bashir Khan from Jalgaon in Maharashtra. All of them were found guilty of planting the bombs.
- Tanveer Ahmed Mohammed Ibrahim Ansari, Mohammed Majid Mohammed Shafi, Shaikh Mohammed Ali Alam Shaikh, Mohammed Sajid Margub Ansari, Muzammil Ataur Rahman Shaikh, Suhail Mehmood Shaikh, and Zameer Ahmed Latifur Rehman Shaikh were awarded life terms. One of the accused, Wahid Shaikh, was acquitted by the trial court after spending nine years in jail.
Court Proceedings And Key Arguments
- High Court heard the case over six months, starting in July 2024. The defence lawyers argued that confessions made under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) were extracted under duress and torture, rendering them unreliable.
- The defence also cited investigations pointing to the Indian Mujahideen’s involvement, presenting a confession by IM member Sadiq to support their claims.
- On the other hand, Special Public Prosecutor Raja Thakare argued vigorously for three months, stating that the evidence proved guilt beyond a doubt and described the case as one of the “rarest of rare” that merited capital punishment.
Reactions And Next Steps
- After the verdict, the convicts, appearing via video conference from various jails, thanked their lawyers. The families of the victims expressed shock and disappointment over the acquittals.
- The Maharashtra government and prosecution may now decide to appeal the High Court’s verdict in the Supreme Court.
