2006 Mumbai Train Blast Case: All 12 Convicts Acquitted by Bombay HC

Mumbai : In a landmark ruling nearly two decades after the horrific 2006 Mumbai train blasts, the Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted all 12 individuals who had been convicted in the case. The blasts, which ripped through Mumbai’s suburban trains on July 11, 2006, claimed 189 lives and left over 800 injured.

The High Court bench, comprising Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak, overturned the convictions handed down by the trial court in 2015, citing lack of credible evidence. “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 bench stated, as reported by NDTV.

Of the 12 accused, five were previously sentenced to death and the remaining seven to life imprisonment. Monday’s judgment paves the way for their release, provided they are not facing charges in other cases.

The serial blasts — seven in total — occurred within an 11-minute span in the first-class compartments of local trains during peak evening hours. The explosives, packed in pressure cookers and hidden in bags, were detonated across various routes: Khar Road-Santacruz, Bandra-Khar Road, Jogeshwari-Mahim Junction, Mira Road-Bhayander, Matunga-Mahim Junction, and Borivali.

The 2006 attacks were one of the deadliest terror strikes in India’s railway history, shaking the financial capital and triggering a prolonged investigation and legal battle that has now culminated in the dramatic acquittal of all accused.