SC stays Bombay HC order acquitting all 12 in 2006 Mumbai train blasts case

The Supreme Court stays Bombay HC verdict acquitting all 12 in Mumbai train blasts; says judgment will not be treated as precedent, issues notice to accused on Maharashtra's appeal

The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the Bombay High Court order that had acquitted all 12 people convicted in the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. A two-judge Bench of Justices MM Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh issued notices to the acquitted individuals, asking them to respond to the Maharashtra government’s appeal challenging the High Court verdict.

 

Appearing for the Maharashtra government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta clarified that the state was not seeking to send the released individuals back to prison. However, he asked the apex court to stay the High Court's judgment, noting that certain legal observations in the ruling could affect other cases under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

 

 

“Your lordships may consider saying, the judgment is stayed, however, they will not be required to come back to the prison,” Mehta said, as quoted by Live Law.

 

In its order, the Bench said, “We have been informed that all the respondents have been released and there is no question of bringing them back to the prison. However, taking note of the submission made by the SG on the question of law, we are inclined to hold that the impugned judgment shall not be treated as a precedent. To that extent, there is a stay of the impugned judgment.”   

 

Bombay HC acquits all 12 citing 'lack of evidence'

 

On Monday, a special Bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak of the Bombay High Court acquitted all 12 convicts. The court said the prosecution failed to prove their case and that it was “hard to believe the accused committed the crime".

 

“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 in its ruling.

 

The case was investigated by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

 

Who were the 12 accused acquitted by HC?

 

The prosecution had alleged that all 12 men were members of the banned group Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). The High Court overturned the convictions of both death row and life convicts.   

 

Mumbai train blasts 2006

 

On July 11, 2006, seven powerful bombs exploded on Mumbai’s suburban train network during evening rush hour. The attacks killed 189 people and injured more than 820. The blasts occurred at various locations, including Matunga, Bandra, Borivali, and Mira Road.

 

Death row convicts (now acquitted)

 

1. Kamal Ansari (deceased) – Alleged to have planted the Matunga bomb

2. Mohammed Faisal Rahman Shaikh – Alleged mastermind and bomb maker

3. Ehtesham Siddiqui – Accused of planting the Mira-Bhayandar bomb

4. Naveed Hussain Khan Rasheed – Accused of planting the Bandra bomb

5. Asif Khan Bashir Khan – Civil engineer, alleged to have planted the Borivali bomb

 

Life convicts (now acquitted)

 

1. Tanveer Ahmed Ansari – Accused of attending terror training camps

2. Mohammed Majid Shafi – Allegedly handled hawala funds

3. Shaikh Mohammed Ali Alam – Accused of assembling bombs

4. Mohammed Sajid Ansari – Allegedly helped harbour Pakistani nationals

5. Muzammil Shaikh – Software engineer, accused of reconnaissance

6. Suhail Mehmood Shaikh – Accused of arms training

7. Zameer Ahmed Shaikh – Allegedly attended conspiracy meetings

 

Another accused, Wahid Shaikh, had been acquitted earlier by the trial court in 2015.