The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the Bombay High Court’s recent order acquitting all 12 accused in the 2006 Mumbai train bomb blasts case, which had claimed 189 lives and injured over 800 commuters. A bench comprising Justices MM Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh issued notices to the acquitted individuals, seeking their responses to an appeal filed by the Maharashtra state government challenging the acquittals.
The apex court clarified that the High Court's verdict should not be treated as a judicial precedent until further orders. On July 22, a special bench of the Bombay High Court, comprising Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak, acquitted all 12 accused. The bench concluded that the prosecution had “utterly failed” to prove its case and remarked that it was “hard to believe the accused committed the crime.” According to the court, the evidence presented lacked the conclusiveness required to sustain the convictions.
Previously, a special MCOCA court had convicted these 12 individuals on September 30, 2015, sentencing five to death and seven to life imprisonment. One of the death row convicts died in 2021.
Following the Bombay High Court’s ruling, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) moved the Supreme Court, challenging the mass acquittals and seeking restoration of the 2015 convictions. The ATS contended that the accused were affiliated with the banned Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and had conspired with members of Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to carry out the attacks.
The ATS maintained that the special court, after a detailed trial and examination of over 200 witnesses, had handed down appropriate sentences based on the weight of the evidence presented.
Mumbai's suburban train system was rocked by seven bomb explosions on July 11, 2006, all within 11 minutes of one another. As the trains went through the stations of Matunga Road, Mahim Junction, Bandra, Khar, Jogeshwari, Bhayandar, and Borivali during the evening rush hour, the bombs, which had been concealed inside first-class compartments and planted in pressure cookers, exploded.
Over 800 people were injured and 189 people lost their lives as a result of the horrifying attack. Twelve people were found guilty in 2015 by a trial court following nearly ten years of court proceedings, which began with the filing of the chargesheet in November 2006. Of the 12, five were sentenced to death, while the remaining seven received life imprisonment. One more accused had been acquitted during that 2015 judgment.
Also Read: All 12 accused acquitted in 2006 Mumbai train blasts case
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