Mumbai 7/11 train blasts: Maharashtra govt to challenge acquittal of 12 accused in Supreme Court, says CM Fadnavis

CM Fadnavis described the high court verdict as shocking. File Pic

The Maharashtra government will challenge the acquittal of 12 accused in the Mumbai 7/11 train blasts case by the Bombay High Court in the Supreme Court, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Monday, reported the PTI.

He described the high court verdict as shocking.

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"I will go through the entire order. I have discussed with the lawyers, and the high court verdict will be challenged in the Supreme Court," he told reporters, as per the PTI.

Nineteen years after seven train blasts here killed more than 180 persons, the Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted all 12 accused, saying the prosecution utterly failed to prove the case and it was "hard to believe the accused committed the crime".

The court allowed the appeals filed by the accused challenging their conviction and sentences imposed on them by a special court in 2015.

A special bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak said the prosecution has failed to even bring on record the type of bombs used in the crime, and that the evidence relied on by it was not conclusive to convict the accused, as per the PTI.

The bench refused to confirm the death penalties imposed on five of the 12 accused and dismissed the confirmation appeals filed by the Maharashtra government.

A special court had, in 2015, convicted 12 persons in the case, of whom five were sentenced to death and the remaining seven were given life imprisonment. One of the convicts died pending hearing of the appeal.

Meanwhile, Former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya on Monday visited Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Iqbal Singh Chahal at Mantralaya, accompanied by relatives of the victims of the serial blasts.

He appealed to CM Fadnavis to constitute a team of investigators and legal experts to address the shortcomings in the previous probe into the train bombings.

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had conducted the probe into the crime.

Calling the recent acquittals in the case "painful and shocking," Somaiya said, "I have requested CM Devendra Fadnavis to set up a team of investigators and legal experts to overcome the shortcomings in the previous probe carried out by the police."

(with PTI inputs)