2006 Mumbai train blasts: Bombay HC acquits all 12 accused, bench says prosecution 'utterly failed to prove the case'

The Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted all 12 people who had been convicted by the trial court for their alleged role in the 2006 Mumbai Train blasts. This important verdict came after 19 years. A special bench of the Bombay High Court ruled that the evidence relied by the prosecution was not conclusive to convict the accused persons. The court then ordered the immediate release of all the accused.

On the evening of July 11, 2006, bomb blasts took place at seven different places in the Mumbai local train within just 11 minutes. In this incident, 189 people lost their lives in the blast, while more than 827 passengers were injured.

The bombs were placed in 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.

The chargesheet was filed in the case in November 2006. After this, in 2015, the trial court convicted 12 accused. Of these, 5 were sentenced to death, while 7 were given life imprisonment.
AIMIM MP raised the issue of the acquittal, saying that in many such cases, the investigative agencies had failed the people.

"Innocent people are sent to jail and then, years later when they are released from jail, there is no possibility for reconstruction of their lives. For the last 17 years, these accused have been in jail. They haven't stepped out even for a day. The majority of their prime life is gone. In such cases where there is a public outcry, the approach by police is always to first assume guilt and then go from there. Police officers take press conferences in such cases, and the way the media covers the case, it kind of decides the guilt of a person. In many such terror cases, investigating agencies have failed us miserably," he said.

Former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya has urged the state government to approach the Supreme Court and appeal against the verdict.

"The decision given by the Mumbai High Court regarding the 2006 Mumbai bomb blasts has caused great sorrow and shock. Certainly, there must have been some shortcomings in the 2006 investigation, legal representation, and court presentation. I have appealed to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to form a competent investigation committee and legal team, and to approach the Supreme Court. The people of Mumbai deserve justice, Terrorists must be punished," Somaiya said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from ANI)