2006 Mumbai Train Blast: All 12 Convicts Acquitted by Bombay High Court After 19 Years

2006 Mumbai Train Blast: The Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted all 12 men convicted in the 2006 Mumbai train bombings, nearly two decades after the serial blasts killed 189 people and injured over 800 on the city’s suburban railway network. Among those acquitted, five were on death row. 

A special bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak delivered the operative part of the order, citing serious flaws in the prosecution’s case, including unreliable witnesses, questionable identification parades, and confessional statements extracted through torture.

“The defence had raised serious questions about the test identification parade. Many witnesses remained silent for unusually long periods, some over four years, and then suddenly identified the accused. This is abnormal,” the bench noted.  

The court found that one witness had deposed in multiple unrelated crime branch cases, including the Ghatkopar blast case, making his testimony “unreliable,” while several others failed to explain how they could suddenly recall and identify the accused after years.

The judges also pointed to procedural lapses during the investigation and trial. “Some witnesses were not even examined during the trial. As for recoveries like RDX and other explosive material, the prosecution could not establish that the evidence was sacrosanct until it reached the Forensic Science Laboratory,” the bench observed.

Concluding that there was “non-application of mind,” the High Court held that the prosecution had “thoroughly failed” to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. “It is difficult to say that the prosecution can sustain its charges,” the bench said, setting aside the October 2015 judgment of the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court, which had sentenced five to death and seven to life imprisonment.

Of the 12 originally convicted, one, Kamal Ansari, died in 2021 due to Covid-19 while lodged in Nagpur prison. The remaining 11, who have spent 19 years in jail, are now set to walk free.

Advocate Yug Mohit Chaudhry, who represented some of the accused, said, “This judgment will be a sign of hope for those wrongly incarcerated.” The bench responded, “We did our duty and it was our responsibility.”

Public Prosecutor Raja Thakare, acknowledging the verdict, stated that the judgment would serve as a “guiding light” for future trials.

The 2006 Mumbai train blasts, one of India’s deadliest terror attacks, saw seven bombs explode in first-class compartments during peak hours on the Western Railway line, leaving a lasting scar on the city.

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