2006 Mumbai Train Blasts: In a significant turn in the 2006 Mumbai train bombings case, the Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the legal applicability of the Bombay High Court judgment that acquitted all 12 accused. However, the top court clarified that the acquitted individuals will not be re-arrested.
“All respondents were released and thus no question to bring them back to prison,” the Supreme Court stated, adding, “However, on the question of law, we will say that the impugned judgment is not treated as precedent in any other cases. Therefore, to that extent, let there be a stay on the impugned judgment.”
The Supreme Court was responding to a petition filed by the Maharashtra government, which challenged the High Court’s ruling. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state, argued that the verdict could have wider implications, particularly for other cases filed under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
The top court has issued notices to the acquitted individuals but made it clear that they will not be taken back into custody. On Wednesday, the court had remarked that staying an acquittal would be a “rarest of rare” occurrence.
Bombay HC Had Slammed ATS Probe in 7/11 Blasts Case
On Monday, a division bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak of the Bombay High Court overturned the convictions handed down by a special court in 2015. The High Court said the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) failed to build a credible case and “utterly failed to establish offences beyond reasonable doubt.”
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The 2006 serial blasts on July 11 had killed 189 people and left 824 injured when bombs detonated across seven Mumbai local train coaches.
While a special court had sentenced five individuals to death and seven others to life imprisonment in 2015, the High Court dismantled the case, citing unreliable witness testimonies and the prosecution’s inability to identify the type of explosive used.
One of the men sentenced to death had died of COVID-19 in 2021.
