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Why Bombay HC acquitted all 12 in 2006 Mumbai train blast case that killed 187
The Bombay high court held that the prosecution was unable to even establish the nature of the bombs used in the attack.
Nineteen years after a series of coordinated blasts on Mumbai’s suburban trains killed over 180 people, the Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted all 12 men convicted in the case, ruling that the prosecution "utterly failed" to prove their involvement and that the evidence was unreliable and insufficient for conviction.
The judgement is seen as a big setback for the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which had led the investigation into the 2006 Mumbai train bombings — one of the worst terror attacks in the city’s history.
The blasts, which occurred during the evening rush between 18:23 and 18:28 hours on July 11, 2006, struck seven coaches on the western suburban line, injuring at least 829 people.
What HC said during verdict
A special division bench comprising Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak found serious lapses in the investigation and prosecution. “The prosecution has utterly failed to prove the case against the accused. It is hard to believe that the accused committed the crime. Hence their conviction is quashed and set aside,” the bench stated in its judgment.
Also Read | 7 explosions, 187 dead, 800 injured, 0 accused: The horror of 2006 Mumbai train blasts
The high court held that the prosecution was unable to even establish the nature of the bombs used in the attack, and that the alleged recoveries and witness statements presented had no evidentiary value, as reported by news agency PTI.
“The prosecution has failed to even bring on record the type of bombs used in the alleged crime. Hence, the evidence of recovery is not sufficient to prove the offence against the accused,” the court observed.
Key evidence, witness testimonies discarded
The bench raised serious concerns over procedural lapses in the investigation. It noted poor handling of recovered items like explosives and circuit boxes, which were allegedly used to assemble the bombs.
Witness accounts, including those from taxi drivers, alleged eyewitnesses to the bomb planting, and others claimed to have seen the accused assemble the bombs, were rejected.
“The witness statements are not credible or trustworthy and conclusive to convict the accused. The evidence is not safe to rely on and the defence has succeeded in shattering the same,” PTI quoted the judgment.
The court pointed out that the test identification parade was conducted by police officers who were not authorised to do so.
Further, the high court questioned the validity of witness identifications made four months after the blasts and again in court four years later. “These witnesses did not have enough opportunity to have seen the accused on the day of the incident to identify them correctly later,” it noted.
According to the news agency, the bench also dismissed the alleged confessional statements of some of the accused. “The confessional statements are found to be incomplete and not truthful as some parts are a copy-paste of each other. The accused persons have proved their case that torture was inflicted at the time,” the judgement said.
Acquittal wipes out all 12 convictions from 2015
In 2015, a special court had convicted 12 men in the case — five were sentenced to death and seven to life imprisonment. The Bombay high court has now set aside all those convictions, directing that the accused be released from prison unless wanted in any other case.
The five who had been sentenced to death were Kamal Ansari (who has since died), Mohammad Faisal Ataur Rahman Shaikh, Ehtesham Qutubuddin Siddiqui, Naveed Hussain Khan, and Asif Khan.
The seven others serving life sentences were 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 Latiur Rehman Shaikh.
(With PTI inputs)
