2006 Mumbai Train Blasts: Bombay HC Acquits All 12 Citing ‘Grave Error

Swift Summary

• The Bombay High Court on July 21,2025,acquitted all 12 accused in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case,overturning a special MCOCA court’s earlier verdict sentencing five to death and seven to life imprisonment.
• The court criticized the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for creating “a false appearance of having solved a case,” noting key prosecutorial failures.
• The blasts on July 11, 2006, killed 189 people and injured over 800. Pressure cooker bombs were used during peak hours in suburban trains to inflict maximum damage.
• Eyewitness testimonies were deemed unreliable due to significant delays and lack of corroboration. Test identification parades conducted by an unauthorized officer also rendered evidence inadmissible.
• Confessions from the accused were ruled involuntary as they were extracted under “inhuman” torture; procedural safeguards like informing defendants of thier legal rights or independence of confessional processes were violated.
• Invocation of MCOCA was deemed unlawful due to improper prior sanction; approval lacked examination of essential documents and witness testimony from the sanctioning officer was absent during trial proceedings.
• Destruction or mishandling of critical evidence like call detail records (CDRs), physical materials allegedly recovered (RDX granules, circuit boards), raised doubts about investigative integrity and fair trial standards.
• Following this judgment, Maharashtra has appealed the decision before the Supreme Court.

Image Credit: PTI

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