Mumbai: In a dramatic turn of events nearly two decades after one of India’s deadliest terror attacks, the Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted all 12 men convicted in the 2006 Mumbai suburban train bombings, including five who were on death row. A division bench of justice Anil Kilor and justice Shyam C Chandak pronounced the verdict on Monday.
The court held that the prosecution had “utterly failed” to establish the charges against the accused and ordered their immediate release, subject to any other pending cases. “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 high court said.
Between 18:23 and 18:28 hours on July 11, 2006, seven high intensity, highly sophisticated explosive devices ripped through first-class gent’s compartments of seven suburban trains on Western line, leaving 187 dead and 829 injured.
The court’s 1,000-page judgment effectively overturns the 2015 verdict of the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court, which had sentenced seven men to life imprisonment and five to death in the serial blasts.
“The evidence presented is not trustworthy or sufficient to bring home the guilt of the accused,” the bench observed, calling the confessional statements obtained under MCOCA “involuntary and inadmissible.” It also questioned the credibility of the entire investigation, citing procedural lapses, contradictions in testimonies, and absence of crucial witnesses.
The court noted that the prosecution failed to prove any conspiracy or link the accused directly to the seven explosions that ripped through first-class compartments on Mumbai’s Western Line during the evening rush hour. Describing several parts of the case as “difficult to believe,” the bench said that in such a serious matter, the prosecution had to meet the highest standard of proof—which it did not.
Those acquitted include Kamal Ansari, Faisal Shaikh, Ehtesham Siddiqui, Naveed Khan, and Asif Khan—who had all been sentenced to death. The remaining seven men, who were awarded life terms, were also set free.
The verdict has raised fresh questions over the conduct of high-stakes terror investigations in India, especially in cases where confessions, circumstantial evidence, and claims of cross-border training are relied upon.
Defence lawyers and human rights advocates welcomed the acquittal. “It took 17 years of legal battle and 9 years in appeal for justice to be delivered. The lives of 12 families were ruined by a botched-up investigation,” said advocate Sharif Shaikh, who represented several of the acquitted.
On the other hand, families of the victims expressed shock and anguish. “If they were not the culprits, who killed our loved ones?” asked a relative of one of the deceased. Some survivors said they would seek a Supreme Court appeal against the acquittals.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which probed the case and claimed the attack was orchestrated by Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba with local support from the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), has come under renewed scrutiny for its handling of the case.
State prosecutors said they would study the full judgment before deciding on the next legal step, which could involve filing a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court.
The 7/11 blasts—executed using pressure-cooker bombs —shocked the nation and exposed the vulnerability of Mumbai’s transport infrastructure.
