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Saudi Gazette
4 days ago
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
India court pauses acquittal of 12 men in Mumbai train bombings case
DELHI — India's Supreme Court has stayed a recent court verdict which acquitted 12 men who had been convicted for the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. The Bombay High Court had freed the men on Monday, overturning a 2015 special court verdict which gave death penalty to five of the accused and life imprisonment to the remaining seven. The high court said the prosecution had "utterly failed" to establish that the men had committed the crimes they had been convicted of. On Tuesday, the Maharashtra government appealed against their acquittal. The train bombings had killed 187 and injured more than 800 people. While pausing the high court order on Thursday, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court said the men were not required to go back to prison. The judges said that some of the observations made by the high court in its order could impact pending cases under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), the Live Law website 12 men had been convicted in 2015 by a MCOCA court - a special court set up to try cases that fall under the particular 11 July 2006, seven blasts ripped through busy commuter trains during the evening rush hour in one of India's deadliest bombs, packed into seven pressure cookers and put in bags, detonated within six minutes of each blasts took place in the areas of Matunga, Khar, Mahim, Jogeshwari, Borivali and Mira Road, with most on moving trains and two at security agencies blamed the attack on militants backed by Pakistan, an allegation Islamabad accused, who were arrested shortly after the blasts, have been in jail since then. One of them, Kamal Ansari, who had been sentenced to death, died of Covid in MCOCA court convicted the men of murder, conspiracy and waging war against the country. The prosecution appealed to confirm the death sentences, while the defence sought July 2024, the Bombay High Court formed the two-judge bench to expedite the say that over the next six months, the court conducted more than 75 sittings and examined 92 prosecution witnesses and over 50 defence the 667-page order on Monday, the court noted that the defence had questioned the credibility of the witnesses produced by the prosecution, as well as the confessional statements made by the also acknowledged the defence's contention that the recovered evidence was not maintained in a "sealed condition throughout". — BBC
Scroll.in
4 days ago
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Supreme Court stays HC verdict acquitting 12 in 2006 Mumbai train blasts case
The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed a Bombay High Court order on Monday acquitting 12 persons accused in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case, Live Law reported. The persons accused in the matter, who had been released from prison following the acquittal, will not be required to go back to jail while the matter is being heard, the court said. This came after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Maharashtra government, told the bench of Justice MM Sundresh and NK Singh that he was not seeking directions for the persons accused in the matter to surrender, Live Law reported. On Monday, the High Court acquitted 12 men in the case, holding that the prosecution had 'utterly failed' in establishing their guilt. This came nearly 10 years after a special court had sentenced five of them to death and others to life imprisonment. The Maharashtra government had challenged the acquittal on Tuesday. The case pertains to the seven bomb blasts in suburban trains on Mumbai's Western Railway line on July 11, 2006, killing 189 persons and injuring 824. Following a trial under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, a special court had in October 2015 convicted the 12 persons. The five persons who had been sentenced to death by the trial court are Kamal Ansari, Mohammad Faisal Ataur Rahman Shaikh, Ehtesham Qutubuddin Siddiqui, Naveed Hussain Khan and Asif Khan. All had been held guilty of planting the bombs. Kamal Ansari died in 2021 due to Covid-19 while in the Nagpur Central Jail. The seven others who had been sentenced to life imprisonment by the trial court are Tanveer Ahmed Ansari, Mohammed Majid Shafi, Shaikh Mohammed Ali Alam, Mohammed Sajid Margub Ansari, Muzzammil Ataur Rahman Shaikh, Suhail Mehmood Shaikh and Zameer Ahmed Latifur Rehman Shaikh. On Monday, a special High Court bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandar overturned the convictions stating that the prosecution had failed to establish its case beyond reasonable doubt. It ordered the accused men to be released from jail if they were not required in any other case. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had described the verdict as ' shocking ' and said that the state government would challenge it in the Supreme Court.
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Indian Express
‘Give us back last 20 years': Son of Mumbai blasts accused, who died in jail 4 years before acquittal
Abdullah Ansari was six years old when his father, Kamal Ahmed Mohammad Vakil Ansari, was arrested from Basopatti in Bihar's Madhubani district after being accused of involvement in the Mumbai train blasts of July 11, 2006, in which 189 people were killed. 'I don't remember much… At that age, children just about know how to walk properly,' he told The Indian Express on Tuesday. On Monday, nearly two decades after his father's arrest, the Bombay High Court acquitted all 12 men convicted in the case. This included a posthumous acquittal for Kamal Ansari, who died in jail in 2021 at the age of 50. 'The only thing I want to say is, give us back the last 20 years… Only we know what we went through during these years,' said Abdullah, who last met his father in 2017. He said the High Court judgment came too late. 'What was meant to be wrapped up by the MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act) court in two-four years dragged on for much longer, and then it took another decade in the High Court. My father died in jail.' According to official records, Kamal Ansari died of Covid at Nagpur Central Jail in 2021, during the height of the pandemic. 'What happened was wrong, not just to my father but also to the others whose lives were destroyed by this process. Can anyone give back those 20 years to us, or to the 11 other families that also suffered?' Abdullah said. In July 2006, 189 people were killed and 824 injured in a series of blasts that ripped through seven Mumbai local train coaches. Kamal Ansari had been accused of receiving arms training in Pakistan, ferrying Pakistani terrorists across the Indo-Nepal border, and helping plant explosives that detonated at Matunga station in Mumbai. However, his son said Kamal was a worker trying to make ends meet by doing odd jobs in Madhubani and nearby areas. In 2015, a special MCOCA court sentenced Kamal Ansari and four others to death on charges of organised crime, criminal conspiracy, spreading terror and murder, under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Explosives Substances Act, 1908, MCOCA, and Railways Act, 1989. After his father's arrest, Abdullah said that 'his mother and three brothers endured severe financial hardship'. The eldest among the siblings, Abdullah now works in a private company in Delhi, as does his brother Obedullah. Another brother, Abdul, works in Darbhanga, while the youngest, Sufian, is still studying.
News18
5 days ago
- Politics
- News18
‘2006 Blast Acquittals Over Seal For RDX, Minor Details': Why SC Agreed To Hear Maharashtra's Plea
Maharashtra Plea Against HC 2006 Mumbai Train Blasts Case Acquittals: The Maharashtra government said the recovery of RDX was disbelieved on a "hyper-technical ground" The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday agreed to hear on Thursday the Maharashtra government 's appeal challenging the Bombay High Court (HC) judgment acquitting all 12 accused. On July 11, 2006, seven blasts within a span of 11 minutes in the first-class compartments of Western Railway (WR) local trains left 189 dead and several injured. The MCOCA court in September 2015 convicted 12 of the 13 arrested in the case. Kamal Ansari (now dead), Mohammad Faisal Ataur Rahman Shaikh, Ehtesham Qutubuddin Siddiqui, Naveed Hussain Khan and Asif Khan were sentenced to death, while Tanveer Ahmed Mohammed Ibrahim Ansari, Mohammed Majid Mohammed Shafi, Shaikh Mohammed Ali Alam Shaikh, Mohammed Sajid Margub Ansari, Muzammil Ataur Rahman Shaikh, Suhail Mehmood Shaikh and Zameer Ahmed Rehman Shaikh were sentenced to life imprisonment. The Bombay High Court (HC) on Monday acquitted all 12 accused, saying the prosecution utterly failed to prove the case and it was 'hard to believe they committed the crime". The Maharashtra government has appealed against the HC judgment on grounds that the recovery of RDX from an accused was disbelieved on a 'hyper-technical ground" that the seized explosives were not sealed with a lac seal. Earlier in the day, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, on behalf of the state government, mentioned the plea before an apex court bench headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai and sought an urgent hearing. The court agreed to hear it on July 24. The state government, in its appeal, has raised several serious objections to the high court's order of acquittal. The plea has asserted that due procedural safeguards under Section 23(2) of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) were observed, including proper sanctioning by senior officers like prosecution witness (PW) no. 185 Anami Roy. It said the high court overlooked the validity of these approvals despite no substantial contradiction in the prosecution's evidence. #WATCH | Mumbai: On Bombay High Court acquitting all 12 people in relation to 2006 Mumbai train bombings, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis says, 'The verdict of the Bombay High Court is very shocking and we will challenge it in the Supreme Court." — ANI (@ANI) July 21, 2025 Lac seal for RDX: What Maharashtra government said in plea The plea has assailed the high court's rejection of the recovery of 500 grams of RDX from one of the accused on the ground that it lacked a lac seal. The plea has said that RDX, being highly inflammable, was not sealed for safety reasons and the recovery was duly sanctioned and documented. 'That, the Hon'ble High Court has disbelieved the recovery of 500 gms of RDX from Accused No. 1 on a hyper-technical ground that the RDX which was seized was not sealed with a lac seal. It will be pertinent to note that the same was not sealed with a lac seal because RDX is an inflammable substance. 'It is pertinent to note that the High Court records that the sanctioning authority for explosive substances has been examined by the prosecution. However, the Hon'ble High Court has not found any infirmities in the evidence of PW 26, who is the sanctioning authority under the Explosive Substances Act for seizure of RDX from Accused No. 1. Therefore, the High Court has erred in disbelieving the recovery of RDX from Accused No. 1," the plea has said. Minute details in confession: What Maharashtra government said in plea It has also disputed the high court's dismissal of the confession of an accused for lacking minute details, such as the date of arrival of the Pakistani co-conspirators in India, the description of the six Pakistanis and information like whether they had trained in terrorist camps. 'The entire confessional statement has been disbelieved which is an unacceptable conclusion," the plea has said, adding that omissions regarding the identities and origins of the Pakistani co-conspirators do not invalidate the overall confession. The appeal also challenges the high court's disregard of the recovery of detonators and explosive granules from another accused, pointing out that these items cannot be easily procured or planted, and their evidentiary value should not have been dismissed over technicalities. The petition says the high court failed to address the validity of the convictions under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and relevant provisions of the Explosive Substances Act. It says the high court ignored key findings and legal interpretations from previous landmark judgments. The plea addresses the defence's contention that the accused did not meet the definition of 'continuing unlawful activity" under the MCOCA due to earlier offences being punishable by less than three years. top videos View all Citing Supreme Court precedents, the plea says the conspiracy and scale of the attack clearly fall under MCOCA provisions. With PTI Inputs About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk More tags : 2006 Mumbai Train Blasts 2006 Mumbai Train Bomb Blast Bombay High Court Devendra Fadnavis supreme court view comments Location : Mumbai, India, India First Published: July 23, 2025, 13:20 IST News cities '2006 Blast Acquittals Over Seal For RDX, Minor Details': Why SC Agreed To Hear Maharashtra's Plea Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Scroll.in
6 days ago
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Maharashtra moves Supreme Court challenging acquittal of 2006 Mumbai blasts accused
The Maharashtra government has moved the Supreme Court challenging a Bombay High Court order acquitting all 12 persons accused in the 2006 Mumbai local train blasts case, the Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday. The Supreme Court has listed the petition for hearing on Thursday. On Monday, the High Court acquitted the 12 men accused in the case, holding that the prosecution had 'utterly failed' in establishing their guilt. This came nearly 10 years after a special court had sentenced five of them to death and others to life imprisonment. The case pertains to the serial blasts that took place on July 11, 2006, in which seven bombs exploded in suburban trains on Mumbai's Western Railway line, killing 189 persons and injuring 824. Following a trial under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, a special court had in October 2015 convicted the 12 persons. The five persons who had been sentenced to death by the trial court are Kamal Ansari, Mohammad Faisal Ataur Rahman Shaikh, Ehtesham Qutubuddin Siddiqui, Naveed Hussain Khan and Asif Khan. All had been held guilty of planting the bombs. Kamal Ansari died in 2021 due to Covid-19 while in the Nagpur Central Jail. The seven others who had been sentenced to life imprisonment by the trial court are Tanveer Ahmed Ansari, Mohammed Majid Shafi, Shaikh Mohammed Ali Alam, Mohammed Sajid Margub Ansari, Muzzammil Ataur Rahman Shaikh, Suhail Mehmood Shaikh and Zameer Ahmed Latifur Rehman Shaikh. On Monday, a special High Court bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandar overturned the convictions stating that the prosecution had failed to establish its case beyond reasonable doubt. It ordered the accused men to be released from jail if they were not required in any other case. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had described the verdict as 'shocking' and said that the state government would challenge it in the Supreme Court, the Hindustan Times reported.
