Mumbai Train Blasts Case: Bombay High Court Acquits All 12 Convicted in 2006 Attack, Maharashtra Eyes Supreme Court Appeal
The convictions of all 12 people found guilty in the 2006 Mumbai train explosions, which left 189 people dead and over 800 injured, have been overturned by the Bombay High Court in a startling turn of events. The court’s ruling, which was delivered on July 21, 2025, dismantles a case in which five men were previously sentenced to death and seven to life in prison, citing obvious investigative flaws and shaky evidence. The acquittal has rekindled discussions about justice, accountability, and the integrity of India’s anti-terrorism investigations, leaving the nation and the families of the victims waiting for answers. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has promised to appeal the decision in the Supreme Court.
First-class compartments on the Western Railway line were the target of seven coordinated bomb explosions that ripped through Mumbai’s suburban trains on July 11, 2006, during the height of the evening. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) first blamed the attacks, one of India’s deadliest terror incidents, on the outlawed Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and Lashkar-e-Taiba members based in Pakistan. A special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court found 12 men guilty in 2015 after mainly depending on witness testimony and confessional statements. These pillars, however, were found to be collapsing by the Bombay High Court, which was presided over by Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak. The court ruled that the prosecution “utterly failed” to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The court pointed out a number of problems, including the inadmissibility of confessional statements because of claims of torture, the lack of legal authority for the test identification parade, and the unreliability of key witnesses, some of whom failed to provide an explanation for the years-long delay in identifications. A crucial flaw that damaged the case’s credibility was the prosecution’s inability to even identify the kind of explosives used. The decision posthumously acquitted Kamal Ansari, who passed away in 2021, and released the 11 remaining accused after nearly 20 years in prison. Some of the accused’s attorney, Yug Mohit Chaudhry, described the decision as a “sign of hope” for those who were wrongfully imprisoned, while the relatives of the victims expressed their sorrow, with survivor Mohan Chauhan saying, “Justice got killed.”
The Maharashtra government is considering an appeal to the Supreme Court after being shocked by the verdict. Chief Minister Fadnavis referred to the ruling as “very shocking,” highlighting the necessity of reexamining the ATS’s legal presentation and investigation. Senior advocate Pradeep Gharat and other legal experts cited investigative shortcomings as a major contributing factor and called for an immediate challenge to stop the public’s trust from further eroding. Political leaders such as BJP’s Kirit Somaiya and Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora have criticized the decision, calling it a failure of justice for the victims of Mumbai. The acquittal poses pressing concerns regarding how to strike a balance between prompt justice and solid evidence as India considers this historic ruling. Will this ruling be upheld by the Supreme Court or will it provide reassurance to a city that has been traumatized by terrorism? The country waits for this protracted, agonizing story to continue.
