2006 Mumbai train blasts: All 12 convicts, including 5 on death row, acquitted :::: "...witnesses remained silent for unusually long periods, then suddenly identified the accused"

Nearly two decades after the 2006 Mumbai train bombings killed 189 people, the Bombay High Court has acquitted all 12 men convicted in the case, citing unreliable evidence and forced confessions.  

"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 noted.

The Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted all 12 men who were convicted of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings that killed 189 people and injured over 800. Out of the 12, five convicts were on death row. The acquittal came nearly two decades after the serial blasts shook Mumbai's suburban railway network.

A special bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak read out the operative part of the order, pointing out serious flaws in the prosecution's case. The court observed that key witnesses were unreliable, identification parades were questionable, and confessional statements were extracted through torture.

(Indian forensic experts collect samples from a damaged coach at the site of a bomb blast, at Kandivli in Mumbai, 12 July 2006.- snap 'India Today')

One witness, the court found, had deposed in multiple unrelated crime branch cases, including the Ghatkopar blast case, making his testimony 'unreliable'. Several others failed to explain how they could suddenly recall and identify the accused after years.

The judges also highlighted procedural lapses. "Some witnesses were not even examined during the trial. As for 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.

Observing "non-application of mind", the High Court concluded that the prosecution had "thoroughly failed" to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. "It is difficult to say that the prosecution can sustain its charges," the bench held, quashing the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court's October 2015 judgment that had sentenced five to death and seven to life imprisonment.  

Of the 12 originally convicted, one, Kamal Ansari, died in 2021 due to Covid-19 while lodged in Nagpur prison. The remaining 11, who have spent 19 years behind bars, are now set to walk free.

Advocate Yug Mohit Chaudhry, representing some of the accused, said, "This judgment will be a sign of hope for those wrongly incarcerated". The bench responded, "We did our duty and it was our responsibility".

Public Prosecutor Raja Thakare, while acknowledging the verdict, said the judgment would serve as a "guiding light" for future trials.

The 2006 Mumbai train blasts remain one of India's deadliest terror attacks, with seven bombs exploding in first-class compartments during peak hours on the Western Railway line.