Mumbai local train blast case: High Court acquits all 12 accused, death sentence cancelled

A big decision has come in the 2006 Mumbai local train blast case. The Bombay High Court has acquitted all the 12 accused in this case. All of them were convicted by the special TADA court.

Out of these 12 accused, five were earlier sentenced to death (Mumbai Train Blast 2006). While the remaining seven were sentenced to life imprisonment. In such a situation, now the High Court has declared all of them innocent and ordered their release from jail with immediate effect.

Mumbai local train blast case: High Court acquits all 12 accused

In this historic decision, the division bench of Justice Anil Kilor and Justice S. Chandak said that “whatever evidence was presented, there was no concrete fact. And on this basis, all the accused have been acquitted giving the benefit of doubt.” Let us tell you that on 11 July 2006, serial blasts were carried out in the local trains of Mumbai. In such a situation, the Bombay High Court’s decision has come 19 years after the attack.

Death sentence cancelled

The hearing in this case was completed in January this year. After which the court had reserved the decision. The accused were lodged in Yerawada, Nashik, Amravati and Nagpur jails. In such a situation, the accused were presented in the court through video conferencing. The High Court approved only the appeal of the convicts. Along with this, the petition filed by the state government for confirmation of the death penalty was also rejected.

Statements of witnesses unreliable

The court, while giving the verdict, said that the statements of most of the witnesses presented by the prosecution were found to be unreliable. Especially those of taxi drivers or other eyewitnesses who had identified the accused. The court raised questions on their statements. The court said, “It is not natural for a common man to remember a suspect about 100 days after the blast.

Evidence termed unrelated

The court also termed the recovery of evidence related to the blasts as unrelated to the case. The prosecution had presented evidence of bombs, weapons, maps etc. being related to the blasts. The court clarified, “The prosecution could not prove what kind of bomb was used in the blast,” in such a situation such recovery has no significance.

189 people died in Mumbai local train blast case

For your information, let us tell you that on the evening of 11 July 2006, bomb blasts took place at seven different places in Mumbai local train within just 11 minutes. 189 people died in this blast. While more than 827 were injured.

A total of 13 accused were arrested

After this blast, Maharashtra ATS arrested a total of 13 accused. While the remaining 15 were declared absconding Many of them are suspected to be in Pakistan.

The investigating agency had registered a case in this case under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). A charge sheet was filed in November of the same year (2006). After which in the year 2015, the trial court convicted 12 accused. In which five were sentenced to death and the remaining seven were sentenced to life imprisonment.

The accused also appealed to the High Court for punishment

The state government had approached the High Court in 2015 itself to confirm the sentence of the trial court. After which between the years 2019-2023, the accused also filed appeals in the High Court challenging their sentence and conviction.

However, due to the huge amount of evidence and the complexity of the case, these appeals remained pending for hearing for a long time. Finally, an application was filed demanding speedy hearing of the appeal of a convict Ehtesham Siddiqui. After which the High Court gave its verdict on it.