Nearly two decades after the devastating Mumbai train bombings, the Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted all 12 individuals previously convicted in the case, stating that the prosecution failed to establish their involvement beyond reasonable doubt.
A special division bench comprising Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak overturned the 2015 convictions, remarking that the evidence presented by the prosecution was not sufficient to sustain the charges.
“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 court observed in its ruling.
Death Sentences & Life Terms Set Aside
The High Court not only quashed the convictions but also refused to confirm the death penalties awarded to five of the accused and the life sentences given to the remaining seven. All 12 individuals have now been acquitted and ordered to be released immediately unless they are detained in connection with any other case.
The verdict brings to a close a long and complex legal chapter that began with the 2006 terror attack, one of the deadliest incidents in Mumbai’s history.
Nineteen Years After The Blasts
The acquittal comes 19 years after seven coordinated explosions tore through the city’s Western Railway local trains on the evening of July 11, 2006. The attack claimed more than 180 lives and left hundreds injured, leaving a lasting scar on the city’s psyche.
In 2015, a special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court had found 12 men guilty in the case. Five were sentenced to death and the others were given life terms based on confessional statements, call records, and other circumstantial evidence.
Emotional Reactions In Court
The 12 acquitted individuals appeared before the High Court on Monday via video conferencing from different prisons across Maharashtra. Following the announcement of the judgment, many expressed gratitude to their legal teams, visibly emotional after years of incarceration.
A Case Reopened By Doubt
The High Court’s decision underscores the importance of evidence-based prosecution, especially in cases involving capital punishment.
The court made it clear that the material presented did not conclusively link the accused to the bombings, highlighting major gaps in the investigation and the legal proceedings that followed.
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