Bombay High Court Acquits All 12 Accused Of 2006 Mumbai Local Train Blasts Case

The Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted all 12 accused in the 2006 Mumbai local train blasts case. While hearing the case, the court declared them innocent by stating that there was no conclusive evidence against them. Earlier in September 2015, a special MCOCA trial court had convicted all the accused, labeling the blasts as "inhuman". While delivering the verdict, the high court stated that the prosecution had failed to establish the case.  

The high court bench of Justice Anil Kilor and Justice Shyam Chandak stated that the prosecution failed to establish several findings, including the kind of explosives used in the blast. It further stated that the confession statements failed the validity test. "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 bench said.

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The bench further stated that the accused will be released if they are not convicted in other cases. The bench also pointed out that the accused were given the "benefit of doubts" as the prosecution failed to establish the case.

Earlier in 2015, a trial court sentenced Faisal Sheikh, Asif Khan, Kamal Ansari, Ehtesham Sidduqui and Naveed Khan to death. Apart from this, seven other convicts Mohammed Sajid Ansari, Mohammed Ali, Dr Tanveer Ansari, Majid Shafi, Muzzammil Shaikh, Sohail Shaikh and Zamir Shaikh were sentenced to life imprisonment.

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Earlier on July 11, 2006, seven Mumbai local trains witnessed bomb blasts within 11 minutes, killing 189 passengers. Apart from this, 800 others got severely injured in the blasts. The investigators had stated that rigged pressure cookers were used to amplify the damage in the blasts.

They also stated that the conspirators chose evening hours as most of the people return from their workplaces around that time. The bombs exploded at multiple stations, including Matunga Road, Mahim Junction, Bandra, Khar Road, Jogeshwari, Bhayandar and Borivali.