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Scroll.in
20 hours ago
- Scroll.in
‘Barbaric and inhuman torture': Why Bombay HC acquitted all 12 convicted in 2006 Mumbai train blasts
'Punishing the actual perpetrator of a crime is a concrete and essential step… But creating a false appearance of having solved a case… undermines public trust and falsely reassures society, while in reality, the true threat remains at large. Essentially, this is what the case at hand conveys.' With this powerful observation, the Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted all 12 Muslim men convicted in the 2006 Mumbai serial train blasts case. The July 11, 2006, terror attack had killed 187 people and injured 824. The High Court overturned a 2015 decision by special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court judge Yatin D Shinde that had sentenced five of the men to death and seven to life imprisonment. The High Court delivered a scathing indictment of the prosecution's case. It concluded that the evidence presented by the Mumbai Police's Anti-Terrorism Squad was unreliable. The court found that the entire case was built on three pillars: eyewitness accounts, recoveries of explosives and confessional statements. It held that all of them had crumbled under legal scrutiny. The statements were obtained through 'barbaric and inhuman' torture, the eyewitness accounts were unreliable and the evidence recovered was 'vulnerable to tampering' and therefore inadmissible. The judgment, delivered by Justices Anil S Kilor and Shyam C Chandak, sets 11 of the convicts free after 19 years of incarceration – one of them had died in 2021 due to Covid. However, it leaves a very important question unanswered: who then was behind the 2006 Mumbai train blasts? Scroll unpacks the 667-page judgement, written by Kilor. Unreliable eyewitnesses The prosecution presented eight key eyewitnesses. This included taxi drivers who claimed to have ferried the accused and train passengers who claimed to have seen them planting bombs. The High Court found their testimony 'unsafe' to rely upon for several reasons. A major blow to the prosecution was the invalidity of test identification parades conducted by the police. In a test identification parade, a witness is shown a group of people that includes a suspect and asked to identify the person they witnessed committing an offence. The court found that the special executive officer, Shri Barve, who conducted the parades, had no legal authority to do so. His term had expired over a year before he conducted the parades on November 7, 2006. This rendered the identification of three accused in the parades inadmissible. With the parades invalidated, the prosecution had to rely on 'dock identification'. This is when a witness identifies an accused for the first time in court. The court noted this was a weak form of evidence. In this case, the identification took place more than four years after the incident. The court also pointed to huge, unexplained delays. Most witnesses approached the police more than three months after the blasts and their evidence was largely uncorroborated by other evidence. The court found this very suspicious. For instance, the two taxi drivers who served as witnesses remained silent for four months after the blasts. The court found it unbelievable that they could remember the faces of their passengers after so long, given the brief and impersonal nature of taxi rides in a large city like Mumbai. On top of this, the court slammed the prosecution for not examining six key witnesses who gave statements describing some suspects to the police within days of the blasts. This led the court to draw an 'adverse inference' against the prosecution – meaning the court assumed the missing evidence would have disproven the prosecution's case. Tainted recoveries The second pillar of the prosecution's case was the recovery from the accused of the explosive RDX and other materials – chemicals, books, maps, mobile phones, circuit boards, pressure cookers, Saudi currency, computer discs, cassettes, wires and other electric components. The court found this evidence had 'no evidentiary value' due to a complete failure to follow standard procedures. The most critical lapse was the absence of proper sealing of the seized articles that would prevent tampering. According to the Bombay Police Manual, any seized exhibit must be immediately packed, sealed with an official lac or brass seal, and labelled. The court found that this mandatory procedure was not followed in any of the RDX recoveries. For instance, 500 grams of RDX powder was allegedly seized from one of the convicts in Bihar. However, the evidence showed that the packet was not sealed with an official lac or brass seal. It was simply tied with a thread and had a paper label with signatures. Similarly, cotton swabs with traces of RDX, allegedly recovered from another convict's house, were sent to a forensic science laboratory in an unsealed condition. The lab returned the swabs six days later, asking for them to be sealed. The court noted that for these six days, the crucial evidence was vulnerable to tampering. Other recovered items, such as books, maps, computer parts and wires were deemed legally insufficient to prove the alleged crimes, leading to the overall rejection of the recovery evidence. Confessions extorted by torture The final and most crucial pillar was the confessional statements of 11 of the convicts. According to the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999 under which the accused were booked and convicted, a confession recorded by a senior police officer is admissible as evidence. However, the law lays down strict safeguards to ensure the confession is voluntary. The High Court found that these safeguards were completely violated. The court expressed shock to find that confessional statements recorded by different officers, at different times and places, were identical 'verbatim'. This included questions, answers and even grammatical mistakes. This led the court to believe that the confessions were not genuine but had likely been copied from a pre-prepared document. Most damningly, the court concluded that the confessions were extracted through torture. The judgment details extensive allegations of 'barbaric and inhuman' torture made by the convicts. They spoke of beatings with belts, having their legs split apart by 180 degrees, being subjected to electric shocks and sleep deprivation. The court found that these allegations were corroborated by medical evidence. Based on the 'unshaken' evidence of torture, the court ruled that all the confessional statements were inadmissible. The court noted that other procedural requirements for admission of confessions as evidence under the act were also not complied with. These included informing the convicts of their right to legal services before recording their confessions, and certifying the language of recording and that their statements were read back to the convicts and confirmed by them. Flawed foundation The court then struck at the very foundation of the case. It ruled that the invocation of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act was itself illegal. This hinged on a 'prior approval' under the act from a senior police officer, which the court found deeply flawed. The sanctioning officer, the Additional Commissioner of Police of the Anti-Terrorism Squad at that time, SK Jaiswal, had granted it without seeing the necessary documents. In fact, crucial papers arrived days after he gave his approval. The court noted he had acted merely on a phone call and that his approval order was a mechanical exercise. It also incorrectly used legal terms. This showed a complete non-application of mind, it held. To make matters worse, the prosecution never called Jaiswal to testify in court. Without his testimony, the court ruled, the approval could not be legally proven. Furthermore, the court found a fundamental legal error in the application of the organised crimes act. To apply the law, the prosecution must show the accused is involved in a 'continuing unlawful activity'. The law defines this strictly. It requires at least two prior chargesheets for offences punishable with a minimum of three years in prison. However, the two prior cases relied upon by the prosecution against one of the accused were under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code that carried a maximum punishment of three years. The court thus held that the act should never have been applied in the first place. This fundamental legal flaw rendered the entire proceedings under the act invalid from the start. Destroyed evidence and unfair trial The court criticised the Anti-Terrorism Squad for destroying crucial evidence. The call detail records of the accused were a key point of contention. The defence had repeatedly requested them. The prosecution, however, claimed they had been destroyed. The court noted that the records were of critical importance. They could have established the locations of the accused during alleged conspiracy meetings as well as verified or disproven the prosecution's claim that the accused were in contact with terrorists in Pakistan. The anti-terrorism squad even intervened to bar the telecom company MTNL from providing the record under a right to information application. The court concluded that the destruction of this evidence was a deliberate act to suppress material facts. It raised 'serious doubts over the integrity of the investigation'. This conduct, the court said, amounted to a 'grave violation of the right to a fair trial'. The court also addressed the prosecution's claim that the accused had travelled to Pakistan for training. It held that even if the travel was proven, it was not enough to establish their guilt in the bomb blasts, especially since the prosecution had failed on all other grounds. In its final summary, the court concluded that the prosecution had 'utterly failed to establish the offence beyond the reasonable doubt'. It held that the trial court had committed a 'grave error' by placing reliance on evidence that was clearly inadmissible and untrustworthy. The Maharashtra government has already approached the Supreme Court challenging the High Court's verdict. The apex court will hear the appeal on Wednesday.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
19 years after Mumbai train attack, there is no closure — only unanswered questions
Nineteen years ago, sophisticated bombs ripped through seven local trains in Mumbai within 11 minutes. They killed 189 people, and injured 816. In less than three months, the Anti-Terrorism Squad of Maharashtra Police arrested 13 individuals, named another 15 in hiding as accused, and claimed to have cracked the case. Stringent anti-terror laws, from the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act to the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, were invoked, and the investigators claimed the accused had confessed to their crimes. They were subsequently tried and awarded sentences of life imprisonment and the death penalty in 2015. On Monday, the Bombay High Court acquitted 12 men, highlighting critical procedural lapses in the investigation. The 617-page verdict raises important questions about how an investigation in a case that shook the nation is riddled with worrying loose ends and gaps. Justice Anil S Kilor begins with a disquieting assessment of the case: 'Punishing the actual perpetrator of a crime is a concrete and essential step toward curbing criminal activities, upholding the rule of law, and ensuring the safety and security of citizens. But creating a false appearance of having solved a case by presenting that the accused have been brought to justice gives a misleading sense of resolution. This deceptive closure undermines public trust and falsely reassures society, while in reality, the true threat remains at large.' The High Court ruling points to a series of serious lapses in the investigation, from picking and choosing eyewitnesses, reliance on maps allegedly recovered from the accused, and how confessional statements were obtained. The court notes the serious allegations and medical evidence of custodial torture of the accused. The ruling shows that even the basic element of the case — the nature of the bombs used — was not established with cogent evidence by the prosecution. The state did not have adequate reasons or material evidence, the court held, to grant sanction to prosecute the accused under MCOCA. This is a crucial step in the process when stringent anti-terror laws are invoked. These are laws enacted with the stated goal of combating terror threats that give the state wide powers. They reverse the burden of proof, allow prolonged detention and powers of invasive surveillance, and relax evidentiary standards. It is worrying that Maharashtra Police could not establish the case even to this standard. 'The prosecution has utterly failed to establish the offence beyond a reasonable doubt against the accused on each count, it is unsafe to reach the satisfaction that the Appellants/Accused have committed the offences for which they have been convicted and sentenced,' the court said. Strict anti-terror laws provide a legal framework for the state. But rigorous and fair investigations are crucial for their effectiveness and legitimacy. It is true that there is immense pressure on the state when a gruesome attack, such as this one, is perpetrated on the people. But that makes it even more important that it holds itself to high standards of investigation. Botched investigations and trials that span decades do an added injustice to the victims. The state has a right to appeal the verdict before the Supreme Court, where the final word lies. For now, 19 years later, there is no closure for families of the victims.
Hans India
2 days ago
- Hans India
HC acquits all 12 accused
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday set aside a special court verdict that awarded the death sentence to five convicts in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts and refused the Maharashtra government's plea seeking confirmation of their sentences. The High Court acquitted all 12 accused in the case, including those sentenced to life imprisonment. The special bench of Justices Anil S Kilor and Shyam C Chandak questioned the trustworthiness of certain prosecution witnesses and the Test Identification Parade (TIP) of some of the accused. The bench ordered their release, if they are not required to be detained in any other case, and directed all of them to execute personal bonds of Rs 25,000 each. Finding substance in the case of defence lawyers, the bench observed that the prosecution 'utterly failed to establish the offences beyond a reasonable doubt against the accused on each count.' The bench led by Justice Kilor held, 'It is unsafe to reach the satisfaction that the appellant accused have committed the offence for which they have been convicted and sentenced. Therefore, the accused judgment and order of conviction and sentence are liable to be quashed and set aside' There were 13 accused, of whom one was acquitted by the special court under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA). Of the 12, five were sentenced to death, one of whom died in prison during the pandemic, and seven were awarded a life term. The special bench passed the judgement over five months after it concluded the hearing on January 31. The Bombay High Court had conducted hearings over the span of six months from July last year. A series of bombs exploded on seven western suburban coaches, killing 189 commuters and injuring 824 on July 11, 2006. After an over eight-year trial, the special court under the MCOCA awarded the death penalty to five of the convicts, and life terms to seven others in September 2015.
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First Post
2 days ago
- First Post
An engineer, a call centre operative and more… The 12 men now acquitted in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts
Nineteen years ago, on July 11, seven pressure cooker bombs exploded inside the coaches of Mumbai's suburban trains within 11 minutes, killing 188 people and injuring another 700. Now, the Bombay High Court has acquitted the 12 men, who were initially found guilty of conspiracy and terror charges. But why? read more A forensic officer at the site of a damaged railway train compartment hit by the serial bomb blast in Mumbai in July 12, 2006. Seven bombs went off in the country's financial hub vital commuter rail network killing hundreds. Now, 19 years later, the 12 accused have been acquitted. File image/Reuters Eleven minutes — that's all it took to shake India's financial capital. On July 11, 2006, seven bombs packed in pressure cookers tore through first-class coaches on the city's suburban train line, turning evening commutes into carnage. The explosions at Mumbai's Mahim, Bandra, Khar, Jogeshwari, Borivali, Matunga Road and Mira Road resulted in the deaths of 188 people, and injuring another 700. Nineteen years later, the Bombay High Court has made an unprecedented move; Justices Anil S Kilor and Shyam C Chandak have acquitted all 12 accused in the case — five of them were on death row — noting the evidence provided by the prosecution wasn't sufficient to convict them. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What exactly happened in the 2006 train blasts? Who are the 12 accused who have been let off and more importantly, why? 11 minutes of terror unfold in Mumbai July 11, 2006 was like any other day in Mumbai. Working men and women had finished a long day's work and making their way home using the lifeline — the suburban trains. However, at 6.24 pm, serial explosions occurred along the railway line, continuing until 6.35 pm. Following the explosions, investigators found that the bombs were concealed inside pressure cookers filled with high-grade RDX and ammonium nitrate. Forensics revealed that the explosives were designed to rupture metal and flesh. These bombs were detonated using sophisticated timers, ensuring coordinated chaos. Security officials gather near a damaged local train compartment hit by the serial blasts in Mumbai in July 2006. File image/Reuters In the days following the blast, Maharashtra's ATS began a long-winding investigation, which included the examination of 250 witnesses, studying hundreds of documents, maps and phone records. At the end of it all, in 2015, a trial court convicted 12 people in the blasts — the special court of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act sentenced Kamal Ansari, Faisal Sheikh, Asif Khan, Ehtesham Sidduqui and Naveed Khan to death. Seven other convicts Mohammed Sajid Ansari, Mohammed Ali, Dr Tanveer Ansari, Majid Shafi, Muzzammil Shaikh, Sohail Shaikh and Zamir Shaikh were sentenced to life imprisonment for being part of the conspiracy. From sentenced to acquitted — the 12 men involved Following the sentencing, the 12 convicts filed appeals against their convictions and sentences. And in July 2024, a special bench was constituted to hear the matter on a day-to-day basis. This resulted in today's (July 21) development; the court acquitting all 12 of the accused after the 'the prosecution utterly failed in establishing the case beyond reasonable doubts'. But who are these 12 men? 1) Kamal Ansari: Hailing from Bihar, the 50-year-old was found guilty and sentenced to death in the Mumbai 7/11 blasts. He was also of planting the bomb that exploded at Mumbai's Matunga. Awaiting his death sentence at Nagpur prison, Ansari died in 2021 as a result of contracting Covid-19. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 2) Faisal Sheikh: According to the ATS investigation, Sheikh was responsible for the explosion at Jogeshwari station. Authorities revealed that he was a wanted man even before the blasts — he was on the radar since 2004, at a time which he was deported by Saudi Arabia for illegally staying there. After Saudi, he went to Pakistan and reportedly received training at the Bahawalpur terror camp, which is known to be the Jaish-e-Mohammed's terror hub. 'I didn't want to come to India and wanted to stay in Pakistan and prove my loyalty with Muslims. But my trainers told me that if I wanted to prove my loyalty with Muslims then I should go back to India and avenge the killing of Muslims in hundreds of riots across India,' Faisal has believed to have confessed to the police soon after getting arrested in 2006 in the blast case. Besides laying the bomb, Sheikh also sent youths to that country for training purpose. He had also attended conspiracy meetings besides giving shelter to Pakistani nationals. He was also sentenced to death in this matter. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 3) Asif Khan: Hailing from Maharashtra's Jalgaon, procured explosive material and planted a bomb, which exploded at Borivali station. Authorities noted that he was an active member of SIMI — the Students Islamic Movement of India, a banned Islamist organisation. After the blasts, Khan fled Mumbai and shifted to Belgaum. He was the last accused to be arrested in the case and later given the death sentence. One of the 12 men who were convicted of involvement in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts. File image/AFP 4) Ehtesham Sidduqui: At the time of the bombings, Sidduqui, then 30-years-old, was the joint secretary of SIMI, the banned group in India. Hailing from Uttar Pradesh's Jaunpur, he came to Maharashtra to pursue his education in engineering. However, he dropped out and soon enrolled in SIMI. As for his involvement in the blasts, Siddiqui conducted reconnaissance of local trains. He was also present when bombs were made. He planted an explosive in a local train, which exploded at Mira Road station. For this, he was on death row. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 5) Naveed Khan: Born in Kuwait, Khan reportedly developed a strong friendship with Faisal Shaikh, who was believed to be responsible for funding the entire blasts. Working as a call centre employee at the time of the blasts, the police stated that he was in contact with all the accused and was the one responsible for placing the bomb that exploded at Khar. He too, was on death row. 6) Mohammed Sajid Ansari: A resident of Mumbai, he was awarded the life sentence in the Mumbai 7/11 blasts for allegedly procuring timers for the bombs and helping to assemble them. He also reportedly harboured two Pakistani nationals at his residence. 7) Mohammed Ali: A resident of Mumbai's Shivaji Nagar, he was charged with assembling bombs at his house with the help of Pakistanis who had sneaked into India. For this, he was given life imprisonment. According to investigators, he was part of the SIMI group. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 8) Dr Tanveer Ansari: A resident of Mumbai, the doctor became a SIMI member and was sentenced to life for his involvement in the Mumbai 7/11 blasts. Authorities note that he received arms training in Pakistan and also surveyed local trains in Mumbai to plan the blasts. In 2015, the trial court had found 12 men guilty of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. However, now the Mumbai High Court has acquitted them. File image/AFP 9) Majid Shafi: He arranged for transportation of Pakistani nationals to Mumbai via Bangladesh border and back after the blasts. 10) Muzzammil Shaikh: A software engineer, he received arms training in Pakistan. He surveyed the local trains that were to be bombed. He is the youngest accused in the case. According to an Indian Express report, two of his brothers — Faisal and Raahil — are believed to be the main planners of the conspiracy. Raahil was never caught. 11) Sohail Shaikh: Sentenced to life, a resident of Pune, he reportedly received arms training in Pakistan and surveyed the trains to be targeted. He also received hawala money from absconding accused, Rizwan Dhaware for the execution of the blasts. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 12) Zamir Shaikh: A Mumbai resident, he surveyed local trains and helped assemble the bombs. He received life imprisonment for his involvement in the blasts. Reasons for court to acquit them But why exactly did the court acquit these 12 in the Mumbai blasts case? There are a number of reasons why high court bench of Justice Anil Kilor and Justice Shyam Chandak overturned the trial court's judgment. The high court pointed out serious flaws in the prosecution's case; they noted that key witnesses in the blasts were unreliable, identification parades that were held with authority and confessional statements were tortured out of the accused. In its judgment, the high court noted, '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. Hence, their conviction is quashed and set aside. The 2006 Mumbai serial bomb blasts survivor Mahindra Pitale pays tribute to the victims on its 17th anniversary at Mahim railway Station, in Mumbai back in 2023. File image/PTI 'The confessional statements are found to be incomplete and not truthful as some parts are a copy-paste of each other. The accused persons have proved their case that torture was inflicted at the time,' it added. The high court also slammed the prosecution for failing to examine crucial witnesses. For instance, the court found that the testimony provided by the taxi drivers who drove the accused to Churchgate were 'not trustworthy' and 'cannot be made basis for the conviction'. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It also questioned the handling of the evidence; in the matter of 'recoveries like RDX and other explosive material, the prosecution could not establish that the evidence was sacrosanct until it reached the Forensic Science Laboratory,' the bench said. With inputs from agencies
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Indian Express
Explained: The 2006 Mumbai train blasts, in which Bombay HC has acquitted all 12 accused
The Bombay High Court on Monday (July 21) set aside a special court verdict from a decade ago, which had awarded death sentences to five of the 13 convicts in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts that killed 189 people. Additionally, seven others were given life imprisonment while one was acquitted in the 2015 judgment. The High Court has now acquitted all the 12 people accused in the case. The special bench of Justices Anil S Kilor and Shyam C Chandak questioned the trustworthiness of certain prosecution witnesses and the Test Identification Parade (TIP) of some of the accused. The bench ordered their release, if they are not required to be detained in any other case, and directed all of them to execute personal bonds of Rs. 25,000 each. On July 11, 2006, a series of bombs ripped through seven Western Suburban Railway or Mumbai local train coaches, killing 189 people and injuring 824. The state police's Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) began investigating the case. Following an eight-year-long trial, a designated special court under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA) awarded death sentences to five of the 13 convicts on September 30, 2015. The five death row convicts found guilty of planting the bombs were Kamal Ansari, Mohammad Faisal Ataur Rahman Shaikh, Ehtesham Qutubuddin Siddiqui, Naveed Hussain Khan and Asif Khan. They were convicted under the MCOCA provisions of murder, criminal conspiracy and spreading terror. Seven others given life imprisonment were Tanveer Ahmed Mohammed Ibrahim Ansari, Mohammed Majid Mohammed Shafi, Shaikh Mohammed Ali Alam Shaikh, Mohammed Sajid Margub Ansari, Muzammil Ataur Rahman Shaikh, Suhail Mehmood Shaikh and Zameer Ahmed Latiur Rehman Shaikh. The special court acquitted Wahid Shaikh after he spent nine years in jail. Why did it take over nine years for the HC to conclude hearings? Soon after the trial court verdict, the Maharashtra government in October 2015 filed pleas in the Bombay High Court, seeking confirmation of the death sentences. Under section 366 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), a death sentence passed by a sessions court must be submitted to the High Court. The death penalty cannot be executed unless the court confirms the sentencing. The five men then filed appeals against their convictions. Those awarded life imprisonment also challenged the verdict. When the matter first came up before the HC in January 2019, the bench observed that an intimation was issued by the Nagpur Jail Superintendent to the convicts in October 2015, seeking their response if they intended to file an appeal against the special court judgment. However, the pendency of their death confirmation pleas was not mentioned. Therefore, the HC directed that fresh notices be served to the convicts, following which they filed appeals. Several other events further added to the delay, including the recusal of Justice A S Gadkari, who presided over the division bench, and Justice R D Dhanuka adjourning the hearing of the pleas as the assigned bench was 'overburdened with work'. On September 6, 2023, a Justice Nitin W Sambre-led bench pulled up the state government for 'lack of seriousness' in conducting the proceedings, after it was informed that the government was yet to appoint a special public prosecutor (SPP). While the bench heard the pleas till December 2023, the matters were listed before another bench due to the judge's transfer to the Nagpur bench of HC. They were not taken up for another few months until one of the accused sought early disposal of the matter through a special bench. How did special bench hearings proceed? In July 2024, a special bench of Justices Anil S Kilor and Shyam C Chandak was formed to hear the pleas at length. It conducted regular hearings over the next six months through more than 75 sittings. The case files include 92 prosecution witnesses and more than 50 defence witnesses. Evidence in the case ran over 169 volumes, and the death sentence judgments came close to 2,000 pages. The defence lawyers representing the convicts sought the special court verdict to be set aside and claimed that the investigating agency obtained confessions through torture, resulting in the accused being in jail for over 18 years under a 'false' case. The state government argued that it had sufficient evidence against the convicts and that the death punishment be confirmed as the case fell in the 'rarest of the rare' category. After noting the evidence on record in January this year, the HC bench was to give its verdict on the confirmation pleas and appeals in due course. The aggrieved parties will now have an opportunity to approach the Supreme Court if they want to challenge the same. This is an updated version of a more detailed explainer published in January 2025.
