The prosecution ‘utterly failed’ to prove the case, and it is hard to believe the accused committed the crime, says the court. Will the govt act against ATS officials, asks Asaduddin Owaisi.
MUMBAI – Nineteen years after the 2006 Mumbai train blasts, the Bombay High Court on Monday quashed the conviction of all 12 victims by a special court in 2015. The high court noted that the prosecution had “utterly failed” to prove the case and that it was hard to believe the accused committed the crime.
The 12 accused also succeeded in establishing in the court the fact of torture inflicted on them to extort confessional statements.
The Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MOCCA) had convicted the 12 accused, sentencing five of them to death and the others to life imprisonment.
The special court sentenced Faisal Sheikh, Asif Khan, Kamal Ansari, Ehtesham Siddiqui and Naveed Khan to death. Seven other convicts, Mohammed Sajid Ansari, Mohammed Ali, Dr Tanveer Ansari, Majid Shafi, Muzzammil Shaikh, Sohail Shaikh, and Zamir Shaikh, were sentenced to life imprisonment for being part of the conspiracy.
“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 said. The court said the accused shall be released from jail if they are not wanted in any other case.
The court also said that the explosives, arms and maps recovered during the investigation appeared to be unrelated to the blasts. The prosecution, it said, could not even prove what kind of bombs were used in the blasts.
Seven bomb blasts had ripped through separate Mumbai local trains within 11 minutes on July 6, 2006 that claimed 189 lives and left over 800 people injured.
Pressure cookers were used for the bombings to amplify the damage caused. The first blast occurred at 6.24 pm –- rush hour due to people returning from work – and the last at 6.35 pm. The bombs were placed in first-class compartments of trains from Churchgate. They exploded near the stations of Matunga Road, Mahim Junction, Bandra, Khar Road, Jogeshwari, Bhayandar and Borivali.
Owaisi: Will the Govt ActAgainst ATS Officials?
Asaduddin Owaisi, All India Majlis-e Ittihadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and Member of Parliament from Hyderabad, questioned the investigation agencies after Monday’s acquittal.
Owaisi asked if the Government of Maharashtra would take action against officers of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) who investigated the case.
The Hyderabad MP posted on the social media platform ‘X’ that for 12 Muslim men who were in jail for 18 years for a crime they didn’t commit, their prime life was gone, while there was no closure for over 180 families who lost their loved ones, and those who were injured. “Will the government take action against officers of Maharashtra ATS who investigated this case?” he asked.
“Innocent people are sent to jail, and then years later, when they are released from jail, there is no possibility for reconstruction of their lives. For the last 17 years, these accused have been in jail. They haven’t stepped out even for a day. The majority of their prime life is gone,” wrote Owaisi.
Owaisi slammed the police for the way they handle terror cases. “In such cases where there is a public outcry, the approach by police is always first to assume guilt and then go from there. Police officers take press conferences in such cases, and the way the media covers the case, it kind of decides the guilt of a person. In many such terror cases, investigating agencies have failed us miserably,” posted Owaisi.
Citing the case of Mohammed Majid, one of the 12 men acquitted, Owaisi said his wife died without a final conversation with Majid.
The father of Faisal and Muzammil, two brothers who are among those acquitted, died of a heart attack after hearing the verdict of death and life sentence for his sons. Their mother died in 2023, wrote the MP. – With inputs from IANS
