Bombay HC verdict on Mumbai train blasts: Why the prosecution's case fell apart

Bombay HC

In a scathing verdict, the Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted all 12 men convicted in the 2006 Mumbai train bombings, delivering a stunning blow to the prosecution’s case and exposing glaring lapses in the investigation of the tragedy that killed 188 people and injured over 800.

Overturning a 2015 trial court judgment that had sentenced five to death and seven to life imprisonment, a division bench highlighted the Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad’s (ATS) failure to prove its charges, calling the convictions a "false appearance of having solved the case". According to TOI, the court observed that such "deceptive closure" only undermines public trust while leaving the real perpetrators unpunished.

The prosecution’s case crumbled under scrutiny of its 44,000-page record, with the HC noting that key witnesses, including taxi drivers who allegedly ferried the accused and those who claimed to have seen bombs being planted, were unreliable. As reported by TOI, taxi drivers identified the accused in court over four years after the blasts but offered no credible explanation for suddenly recalling their faces after 100 days of silence post-incident.

The court also dismissed testimonies from a "stock witness" who had served as a panch witness in four unrelated cases and another who changed his statement during cross-examination. One conspiracy witness admitted he had no idea what the accused were discussing, despite claiming to have overheard them.

Critical to the collapse of the case was the inadmissibility of Test Identification Parades (TIPs), as the Special Executive Officer who conducted them lacked the authority to do so. The trial court had reportedly heavily relied on these TIPs and confessional statements, branding the blasts among the "rarest of rare" crimes.

The HC issued a powerful rebuke of investigative failures in its judgment, emphasising that "punishing the actual perpetrator of a crime is a concrete and essential step towards curbing criminal activities, upholding the rule of law, and ensuring the safety and security of citizens." However, the bench warned that creating a false impression of resolution by wrongfully convicting individuals does more harm than good.

The court observed that such deceptive closure not only undermines public trust in the justice system but also provides dangerous false reassurance to society. While the illusion of justice is presented, the judges noted, the true perpetrators remain free to pose further threats. The verdict made clear this was precisely what had occurred in the handling of this case.

The 2015 trial court verdict had convicted 12 individuals, with five sentenced to death, one of whom died during appeal, and seven to life terms. Abdul Wahid, the sole acquitted accused, saw his discharge unchallenged by the state. The HC’s January 2025 reserving of appeals culminated in Monday’s acquittal, marking a dramatic end to a 19-year legal saga.