In a significant ruling, the Bombay High Court on Monday overturned the death penalty awarded to five convicts in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case, while also rejecting the Maharashtra government’s plea to uphold their sentences. The court further acquitted all 12 accused, including those who had been sentenced to life imprisonment.
The verdict was delivered by a special bench comprising Justices Anil S Kilor and Shyam C Chandak, who raised serious doubts over the credibility of the prosecution’s evidence, particularly the reliability of key witnesses and the Test Identification Parade (TIP) conducted during the investigation.
The bench ordered the release of the accused, provided they are not wanted in any other case, and directed each of them to furnish a personal bond of ₹25,000.
Taking note of the arguments presented by the defence, the court strongly criticized the prosecution’s handling of the case. The bench observed:
“The prosecution utterly failed to establish the offences beyond a reasonable doubt against the accused on each count.”
In the judgment, Justice Kilor stated:
“It is unsafe to reach the satisfaction that the appellant accused have committed the offence for which they have been convicted and sentenced. Therefore, the accused judgment and order of conviction and sentence are liable to be quashed and set aside.”
The decision marks a major turn in the high-profile case that had seen over a decade of legal proceedings following the coordinated bombings on Mumbai’s suburban trains in July 2006, which claimed over 180 lives and left hundreds injured.