Watch: 2006 Mumbai Train Blasts: Why 12 men were acquitted after 18 years

The Hindu

5 days ago

In a landmark judgement, the Bombay High Court acquitted all 12 individuals convicted in one of India's deadliest terror attacks – the 2006 Mumbai train blasts. But why did these men spend 18 years in prison, and then get acquitted on 21st June 2025?
First, let's go back to the day of the terror attack - it was the 11th of July 2006. The time was just past 6:20 in the evening. It was rush hour in Mumbai. The city's lifeline - the suburban trains - was packed. People heading home after a long day, chatting, dozing off, others lost in their thoughts. And then, out of nowhere, a blast ripped through the first-class compartment of a suburban train travelling from Churchgate to Borivali, between Khar and Santa Cruz stations.
Before anyone could even process what had happened, six more blasts followed. One after the other: Bandra–Khar Road. Jogeshwari–Mahim Junction. Mira Road–Bhayander. Matunga–Mahim Junction and Borivali.
Between 6:23 and 6:29 p.m., seven serial blasts ripped through Mumbai's suburban railway network. According to police, the bombs were hidden inside pressure cookers, packed with RDX and ammonium nitrate, and placed in carry bags. 189 lives lost, around 800 injured, for a city that never sleeps, everything came to a standstill.
What followed was swift action. The Anti-Terrorism Squad launched an investigation. Within weeks, they arrested 13 men, accusing them of being part of a larger conspiracy involving Lashkar-e-Taiba. A chargesheet was filed under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act also known as MACOCA.
In 2015, after a long legal process, a special court convicted 12 of the accused. Five were sentenced to death, and seven to life imprisonment. The court found them guilty of planting the bombs, helping terrorists cross the India–Nepal and India–Bangladesh borders, and aiding the conspiracy.
But from the very beginning, there were murmurs of doubt. Multiple agencies later offered contradictory findings. The Mumbai Crime Branch, and even the Delhi Police, claimed that the real culprits were operatives of Students Islamic Movement of India or SIMI and the Indian Mujahideen.
In fact, two IM operatives – Mohammad Sadiq Sheikh and Yasin Bhatkal – reportedly confessed that it was their group that carried out the bombings, allegedly in retaliation for the 2002 Gujarat riots. The Delhi Police even named Abdul Subhan Qureshi, a SIMI ideologue, as a key conspirator.
So how did this group of 12 men come to be convicted?
In court, the prosecution relied mainly on three pillars – eyewitness accounts, recoveries, and confessional statements. But over time, cracks started to show. Eyewitnesses contradicted each other. Confessions were said to have been made under duress. Circumstantial evidence didn't quite connect the dots.
One of the most powerful voices in court was senior advocate S. Muralidhar, former Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court. Representing two of the convicts, he argued earlier this year that there was a bias in the investigation. Innocent people had been sent to jail, and when they were released years later, there was no possibility of reconstructing their lives.
He added that in many such terror-related cases, investigating agencies had failed miserably. First, so many lives were lost, and then innocents were arrested. Years later, when they were acquitted, no one found closure.
Fast forward to July 2025. A Special Division Bench of Justices Anil S. Kilor and Shyam C. Chandak set aside the convictions delivered by a special MCOCA court, which had sentenced five of the accused to death and the remaining seven to life imprisonment.
The Bench observed that the prosecution had 'utterly failed' in establishing the case beyond reasonable doubt. It was hard to believe that the accused committed the crime.
The judgement stated 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. But creating a false appearance of having solved a case by claiming that the accused have been brought to justice gives a misleading sense of resolution. This deceptive closure undermines public trust and falsely reassures society, while in reality, the true threat remains at large.
The verdict was delivered via video conference, with the accused appearing from various prisons across Maharashtra. Visibly emotional, several of them were seen expressing gratitude to their legal counsel after the judgement was announced. They were ordered to be released but were asked to sign a ₹25,000 bond in case further appeals are filed.
The acquittal of the 12 individuals in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case marks a significant moment in India's legal and investigative history. While the High Court's decision brings closure for those imprisoned, it also reopens critical questions about the investigation, prosecution, and accountability in cases of national security.
Credits: Producer: Athira Madhav | Camera: Thamodharan B