Bombay HC acquits all 12 in 7/11 Mumbai train blasts case
A bench of Justice Anil Kilor and Justice Shyam Chandak observed that "the prosecution has utterly failed in establishing the case beyond reasonable doubts". They said the evidence relied by the prosecution was not conclusive to convict the accused persons.
According to Bar and Bench, the court found the statements of nearly all prosecution witnesses unreliable. The court reportedly said there was no reason for taxi drivers or people inside to remember the accused after almost 100 days of the blast.
"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.
The bench said it refuses to confirm the death penalty imposed on five of the convicts and also the life imprisonment on the remaining seven, and acquitted them.
The court said the accused shall be released from jail forthwith if not wanted in any other case.
The Bombay High Court's judgment came19 years after the terror attack shook the city's Western Railway network.
On July 11, 2006, seven blasts ripped through Mumbai local trains at various locations on the western line, killing more than 180 persons and injuring several others.
The chargesheet was filed in the case in November 2006. After this, in 2015, the trial court convicted 12 accused. Of these, 5 were sentenced to death, while seven were given life imprisonment.
One of the twelve accused had passed away in 2021 due to COVID-19.
After the HC's judgment was pronounced on Monday, the convicts, who were produced before the court via video conference from various jails across the state, thanked their lawyers.
Former BJP MP Kriit Somaiya urged the state government to approach the Supreme Court and appeal against the verdict.
'The decision given by the Mumbai High Court regarding the 2006 Mumbai bomb blasts has caused great sorrow and shock,' he was quoted by ANI as saying.
"Certainly, there must have been some shortcomings in the 2006 investigation, legal representation, and court presentation. I have appealed to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to form a competent investigation committee and legal team, and to approach the Supreme Court. The people of Mumbai deserve justice, Terrorists must be punished," Somaiya said.
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