NEW DELHI — Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) has strongly criticised the Maharashtra government’s decision to challenge the Bombay High Court’s acquittal of all 12 accused in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case. It also demanded that the state must compensate acquitted youths who lost their prime time in jail without any crime.
In a sharply-worded statement, JIH Vice President Malik Moatasim Khan said the state should focus instead on compensating the wrongfully incarcerated and reopening the investigation to apprehend the real perpetrators.
“We welcome the Bombay High Court’s decision to acquit the 12 individuals who endured nearly two decades of unjust imprisonment,” Khan said. “The court’s scathing observations about the prosecution’s failure to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt, the use of confessions obtained under duress, and the unreliability of evidence expose serious flaws in the criminal justice system.”
The High Court’s July 21 verdict overturned the 2015 convictions, citing multiple investigative lapses by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), including its inability to even identify the type of explosives used. The court also questioned the credibility of witness testimonies and the mishandling of key forensic evidence.
“These men spent 19 years in prison, subjected to torture, stigma, and psychological trauma. Their families suffered deeply,” said Khan. “Instead of acknowledging the grave injustice and compensating the acquitted for their ordeal, the Maharashtra government is now appealing the verdict in the Supreme Court — a move that flies in the face of reason and fairness.”
Khan stressed that the focus should now shift to the victims of the blasts and the long-overdue quest for real accountability.
“The July 11, 2006 blasts were a horrific tragedy. One hundred and eighty-nine lives were lost, and over 800 people were injured in just 11 minutes. Nineteen years later, justice remains elusive for the victims and their families. The government’s failure to find the true perpetrators is a betrayal of their suffering,” he said.
He added that the 671-page judgment is not just a critique of a failed investigation but also a “sobering indictment of a justice system that allowed lives to be destroyed without due process.”
Calling for a reinvestigation, Khan urged the state to stop “wasting public resources on a futile appeal” and instead “commit to a professional, unbiased inquiry that identifies and punishes those truly responsible.”
The JIH leader concluded with a call for systemic reforms. “This case must serve as a wake-up call. Investigative agencies must be held accountable, and legal safeguards must be strengthened to prevent the kind of miscarriage of justice we have witnessed. The acquitted deserve not just compensation, but an apology from the state. No one should have to spend a lifetime behind bars for a crime they did not commit.”
