Almost two decades since coordinated bombings ripped through the suburban railway network of Mumbai, killing 189 and injuring more than 800, the Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted all 12 persons who were found guilty in relation to the 2006 terror strike.
In 2015, a special trial court had convicted the 12, sentencing five to death and seven to life imprisonment. But Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak were of the view that the prosecution had "completely failed" to prove the charges against the accused and quashed the verdict.
The prosecution has completely failed to establish the case against the accused. It is difficult to believe that the accused committed the offense. Therefore, their conviction is quashed and set aside," the bench noted. The court ordered the accused to be released from custody, subject to them not being wanted in any other criminal cases.
Giving a searing review of the evidence presented by the prosecution, the court allowed the accused the "benefit of doubt" because there was no credible and consistent evidence. The court questioned the credibility of witness evidence by observing that more than three months had elapsed between the time of the occurrence and some identifications — which made it impossible for witnesses to recollect faces accurately.
The bench also questioned the relevance of materials seized from the investigation, such as explosives, weapons, and maps, saying they had no apparent connection to the bombings. The prosecution, the court added, had not even established what kind of explosive devices were used in the coordinated bombing.
The 2006 blasts were on the peak evening rush hour of July 11. In a period of only 11 minutes — between 6:24 pm and 6:35 pm — seven bombs exploded on first-class carriages of local trains leaving Churchgate, blasting out stations such as Matunga Road, Mahim Junction, Bandra, Khar Road, Jogeshwari, Bhayandar, and Borivali. Pressure cookers were employed as bomb containers to enhance the devastation.
In the 2015 verdict, the special MCOCA court had convicted Faisal Sheikh, Asif Khan, Kamal Ansari, Ehtesham Siddiqui, and Naveed Khan to death for the bomb planting. The other seven — Mohammed Sajid Ansari, Mohammed Ali, Dr Tanveer Ansari, Majid Shafi, Muzzammil Shaikh, Sohail Shaikh, and Zamir Shaikh — were given life for conspiracy.
With the High Court’s decision today, all 12 will be released from prison, closing a chapter in one of Mumbai’s most devastating terror cases — though the acquittal is expected to spark further debate about the investigation and trial process that kept the accused incarcerated for nearly 19 years.
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