SRINAGAR: The Bombay High Court has acquitted all 12 Muslim men who were convicted and incarcerated for nearly two decades for their alleged roles in the 2006 Mumbai train bombings, one of the deadliest terror attacks in India’s history. The judgment overturned the 2015 conviction by a special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA) court, which had sentenced five men to death and seven others to life imprisonment, The New Indian Express reported.
Delivering its 671-page verdict, the special bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak held that the prosecution had “utterly failed” to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, reads the report.
Hindustan Times reported that the court sharply criticised the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for investigative lapses and noted that key evidence, including the nature of the bombs used, was never conclusively established. The court also highlighted the unreliable nature of witness testimonies and procedural flaws in identification parades.
“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, as quoted by BBC.
The Hindustan Times report reads that the High Court discarded several confessional statements as inadmissible, observing that these had likely been obtained under torture.
Additionally, the bench noted that poor handling and improper sealing of recovered items, such as explosives and circuit boxes allegedly used in the attacks, rendered much of the material evidence inconclusive, India Today reported.
The Wire report says that the acquitted men spent more than 18 years in prison, with only one, Wahid Shaikh, previously exonerated by the trial court after nine years’ incarceration. Family members and legal advocates have described the years lost as “their prime life” and lamented the enduring stigma and loss.
Speaking after his acquittal, Mohammad Sajid Ansari, one of those released, told ANI, “I have been saying from the beginning that I am innocent. Police have framed a false case against us… Nineteen years of my life have been lost. My daughter and wife have gone through a lot. Today, the Bombay HC has finally proved that we are innocents”.
A Hindustan Times report reads that the verdict has deeply distressed survivors and kin of the 189 people killed and 800 injured in the 7/11 attacks. Several victims’ families have announced they will appeal the acquittals in the Supreme Court, stating that justice has not been served. “Today is a very sad day for everyone. Justice got killed,” wrote survivor Mohan Chauhan on social media, as quoted in the report.
The Deccan Herald reported that the Maharashtra government has said it will study the High Court’s order before deciding whether to challenge it in the Supreme Court. Legal observers, including those representing the accused, have hailed the ruling as overdue justice and a stinging rebuke to investigative agencies. “…In cases where there is public outcry, the approach by police is always to first assume guilt and then go from there,” The Wire quoted senior lawyer Dr S Muralidhar, who represented some of the acquitted men.
The acquittal has reignited calls for accountability and compensation for the wrongly convicted, with civil liberties groups urging both public apology and reparations from the state.
On the evening of July 11, 2006, seven bombs detonated within 11 minutes aboard Mumbai’s crowded suburban trains, killing 189 people and injuring over 800. The ATS accused the 12 men of being members of the banned Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and conspiring with Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives. However, the High Court concluded that the claims were neither legally nor factually established by the evidence before it, BBC reported.
