Mumbai | July 21, 2025: In a significant judgment, the Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted all 12 accused in the 2006 Mumbai local train blasts case, setting aside the earlier convictions that had resulted in death and life sentences. The special court’s verdict, which had handed the death penalty to five of the convicts and life imprisonment to the remaining seven, was overruled by the high court due to lack of reliable evidence.
A special bench comprising Justices Anil S Kilor and Shyam C Chandak delivered the ruling, stating that the prosecution failed to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt. The court noted serious lapses in the identification of the accused and raised questions over the reliability of key prosecution witnesses and the conduct of the Test Identification Parade (TIP).
While refusing to confirm the sentences as urged by the Maharashtra Government, the court ordered the immediate release of all accused, provided they are not wanted in any other pending cases. Each of the acquitted individuals has been directed to submit a personal bond of ₹25,000.
“The prosecution utterly failed to establish the offences beyond reasonable doubt against the accused on each count,” the bench observed, adding that “it is unsafe to reach the satisfaction that the appellant accused have committed the offence for which they have been convicted and sentenced.”
With this ruling, the high court effectively quashed the special MCOCA court’s judgment delivered in 2015 after nearly a decade-long trial. The verdict marks a major turn in one of the country’s most high-profile terror-related cases.
