The judgment comes 19 years after the terror attack that shook the city's Western Railway network, resulting in the loss of over 180 lives and leaving several others injured
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The Bombay High Court on Monday quashed the conviction of 12 persons in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case and acquitted them, noting the prosecution has "utterly failed" to prove the case against them, reported news agency PTI.
The judgment comes 19 years after the terror attack that shook the city's Western Railway network, resulting in the loss of over 180 lives and leaving several others injured.
A special bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak said the evidence relied on by the prosecution was not conclusive to convict the accused persons, reported PTI.
"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 Bombay High Court said, reported PTI.
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.
A special court in 2015 convicted the 12 persons in the case, of whom five were sentenced to death and the remaining seven were given life imprisonment.
After the Bombay High Court'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, reported PTI.
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.
On July 11, 2006, Mumbai was rocked by a series of seven bomb blasts that occurred within 11 minutes on suburban trains during the evening rush hour. The explosives, planted in pressure cookers in first-class compartments, killed 209 people and injured over 700. The attacks targeted the Western Line of the Mumbai local train network and were one of the deadliest terror strikes in India’s history.
In 2015, a special court convicted 12 accused, sentencing 5 to death and 7 to life imprisonment under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
However, on July 21, 2025, the Bombay High Court acquitted all 12 convicts, citing a lack of credible evidence and serious lapses in the prosecution’s case. The court noted that the charges were not proved beyond a reasonable doubt, leading to the collapse of nearly two decades of investigation and prosecution.
(With inputs from PTI)
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