2006 Mumbai train blasts: High court acquits all 12 accused convicted in terror case

Nearly two decades after the deadly 2006 Mumbai train bombings, the Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted all 12 men who were convicted in the case. The blasts had killed 189 people and left over 800 injured.

A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Gauri Godse pointed to major flaws in the prosecution’s case. The court noted that key witnesses could not be relied upon, identification parades were not properly conducted, and several confessions were obtained through torture, raising serious questions about the fairness of the trial.

“The defence had raised serious questions about the test identification parade. Many witnesses remained silent for unusually long periods, some over four years, and then suddenly identified the accused. This is abnormal,” the bench said as quoted by India Today.

The Bombay High Court raised serious doubts over the prosecution’s case in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts, pointing out unreliable witnesses, procedural lapses, and weak evidence handling.

One key witness, the court noted, had testified in several unrelated crime branch cases, including the Ghatkopar blast case, which made his credibility questionable. Others were unable to convincingly explain how they managed to identify the accused after so many years.

The judges also flagged lapses in the investigation. Some crucial witnesses were never examined, and the prosecution failed to prove that key evidence — such as RDX and other explosives — was properly preserved and securely sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory.

Citing a clear “non-application of mind,” the court ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt. It struck down the 2015 judgment of the special MCOCA court, which had sentenced five of the accused to death and seven others to life imprisonment.