‘We did our duty’: What High Court said after acquitting all 12 accused in Mumbai train blasts

The Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted all the 12 people who had been convicted by the trial court in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case.

 

A special bench of the court ruled that the prosecution had "utterly failed" to prove the case and that it was hard to believe the accused committed the crime.

 

The prosecution failed to even bring on record the type of bombs used in the crime, it said.

 

Noting that the witness statements and alleged recoveries made from the accused have no evidentiary value, the high court asserted that the evidence relied on by the prosecution was not conclusive to convict the 12 persons.

 

"We did our duty as judges. That is the responsibility cast upon us," the bench said.

 

The court’s remark came when Advocate Yug Chaudhary, who appeared for some of the accused in the high court, hailed the verdict and said the judgment has restored faith in humanity and the judiciary.

 

Chaudhary said the 12 accused have been languishing in jail for 19 years for a crime they have not committed.

 

Senior advocate S. Murlidhar, who appeared for some of the accused, also thanked the high court for its patient hearing and the acquittal.

 

Murlidhar, a former high court judge, even went on to allege that the investigating agencies show "communal bias" while probing terror-related cases.

 

Seven blasts ripped through Mumbai local trains at different locations on July 11, 2006, killing 189 people and injuring 827 others. The bombs were placed on the first-class compartment of the trains on the western line.

 

In September 2015, the trial court convicted 12 people. Five of them were awarded death while the remaining seven were sentenced to life imprisonment. Following this, the accused moved the high court.

India