New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the Bombay High Court July 21 verdict, acquitting all 12 earlier convicted for orchestrating the 2006 Mumbai suburban train bombings.
A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh held that “the impugned judgment shall not be treated as a precedent” and issued notices to all the accused in the case, acting on a petition filed by the Maharashtra government against the acquittal.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that the verdict could affect other trials under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
The court, however, did not stay the release of the accused from prison.
Serial blasts
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 Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which probed the case, claimed that the attack was orchestrated by Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba with local support from the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).
Bombay HC verdict
On July 21, the high court bench of Justices Anil Kilor and SC Chandak overturned 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.
In its 671-page judgment, the court observed the prosecution had failed to establish the type of explosives used, and found the confessional statements inadmissible due to allegations of torture. The court also raised doubts over witness credibility and procedural lapses in the identification process.
The verdict raised 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. While families of the victims expressed shock and anguish, political and legal circles were divided over the implications for the justice system and the conduct of the investigation.
