Nagpur: In a significant development that has reopened questions about the real perpetrators of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings, the Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted all 12 convicts in the case, citing lack of credible evidence and lapses in the investigation. Among those acquitted are three inmates currently lodged in Nagpur Central Jail — Ehtesham Qutubuddin Siddiqui (C/9168), Naveed Hussain Rashid Hussain Khan (C/9169), and Mohammed Ali Alam Sher Sheikh (C/9171). The judgment also posthumously applies to Kamal Ahmed Mohammed Vakil Ansari, who died in 2021 due to COVID-19 while lodged in the same jail.
A special division bench comprising Justices Anil S. Kilor and Shyam C. Chandak set aside the 2015 judgment of the Special MCOCA Court in Mumbai, which had sentenced five of the accused to death and seven others to life imprisonment. The High Court concluded that the prosecution failed to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt and relied heavily on inconsistent witness accounts, unreliable confessional statements, and inconclusive circumstantial evidence.
The complete list of acquitted accused includes: Kamal Ahmed Mohammed Vakil Ansari (deceased), Mohammed Faisal Ataur Rahman Shaikh, Ehtesham Qutubuddin Siddiqui, Asif Khan Bashir Khan Juned Abdulla, Naveed Hussain Rashid Hussain Khan, Tanveer Ahmed Mohammed Ibrahim Ansari, Mohammed Majid Mohammed Shafi, Shaikh Mohammed Ali Alam Sher Sheikh, Mohammed Sajid Margub Ansari, Muzzammil Ataur Rahman Shaikh, Suhail Mehmood Shaikh, and Zameer Ahmed Latifur Rehman Shaikh.
The coordinated blasts on July 11, 2006, targeted the first-class compartments of Mumbai’s suburban local trains between 6:23 PM and 6:29 PM, resulting in the death of 187 people and injuries to over 824 commuters. Following the attack, seven separate FIRs were registered and consolidated under the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which filed a chargesheet against 13 accused. The case was later tried as MCOC Special Case No. 21/2006 by a designated court in Mumbai.
In its detailed 671-page order, the High Court observed, “Punishing the actual perpetrator of a crime is a concrete and essential step toward upholding justice and public safety. But presenting a misleading sense of resolution by punishing the wrong individuals only damages public trust. Essentially, that is what this case conveys.” The Bench concluded that the prosecution’s evidence did not form an unbroken chain necessary to link the accused with the planning or execution of the attacks.
The appeals filed by the convicts had been pending since 2015. A special bench was constituted in July 2024 to expedite the hearing. The court ultimately refused to confirm the death penalties and life terms awarded by the lower court. “We, hereby, refuse and deny to confirm the death sentence imposed on accused numbers 1, 3, 4, 12, and 13. Their conviction is quashed and set aside,” the bench stated in its ruling.
The court ordered that all 12 appellants be released forthwith if not required in any other case. Each has been directed to furnish a Personal Recognizance (P.R.) bond of ₹25,000 under Section 481 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (equivalent to Section 437A of the CrPC), to ensure appearance in the event of further appeals.
The verdict was delivered via video conference, with the accused appearing from various jails across Maharashtra. Emotional scenes unfolded as several of them were seen expressing gratitude to their legal teams after the pronouncement of the verdict. Monday’s acquittal brings closure to a prolonged legal battle but also revives the unsettling reality that the masterminds behind the 2006 train bombings remain unidentified.
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