Maharashtra ATS To Review Bombay High Court Judgment In 2006 Mumbai Train Serial Blasts Case, Victims to Move Supreme Court

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) will review the detailed judgment of the Bombay High Court before deciding on further action, after the court earlier today acquitted all 12 accused in the 7/11 Mumbai local train bomb blast case. The serial blasts in 2006 claimed at least 189 lives and injured over 800 people.

According to reports, the ATS is currently evaluating the judgment and has not yet made a final decision on whether to file an appeal. The agency will seek legal advice before proceeding.

In a separate development related to this case, victims of the 2006 Mumbai train bomb blast case have announced plans to move the Supreme Court against the Bombay High Court’s verdict.

What happened in 2006?

Seven serial blasts rocked Mumbai on July 11, 2006, when explosions occurred in seven coaches of local trains. The bombings took place within a span of just 11 minutes.

The bombs had been placed in the first-class compartments of trains from Churchgate.

They exploded near the stations of Matunga Road, Mahim Junction, Bandra, Khar, Jogeshwari, Bhayandar and Borivali. A trial court in 2015 convicted 12 people in the blasts case.

What's Bombay High Court decision?

On Monday, 19 years after a local court in Mumbai convicted 12 individuals in the 7/11 Mumbai local train serial blasts case, the Bombay High Court acquitted all of them including five who had been awarded the death penalty, while the rest had received life imprisonment.

The verdict came after Bombay High Court's special bench ruled that the evidence presented by the prosecution was not conclusive enough to support the convictions.

The chargesheet in the case was filed in November 2006, and in 2015, a Mumbai court convicted all 12 accused, sentencing five to death and others to life imprisonment.

Many victims of the Mumbai 2006 blasts have expressed shock on the Bombay High Court's decision, acquitting all the 12 accused in the case.