In a historic judgment, the Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted all 12 men convicted in the 2006 Mumbai train bombings, citing a total collapse of the prosecution’s case. The division bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak said it was simply fulfilling its judicial duty while delivering a verdict that dismantled the earlier convictions handed down by a special court in 2015.
The court declared that the prosecution had “utterly failed” to prove the charges against the accused. It observed that the type of explosives used in the blasts was not even established, and the so-called evidence—including witness testimonies and recovered materials—lacked credibility or legal standing.
“This is our duty as judges,” the bench remarked in court, responding to senior advocate Yug Chaudhary’s comments that the ruling restored faith in both the judiciary and humanity. Chaudhary, who represented some of the acquitted men, said the 12 had spent 19 years in jail for a crime they did not commit. “This judgment is a symbol of hope in times to come,” he added.
Senior advocate S. Murlidhar, also appearing for the defence, thanked the court for its fair and patient hearing. A former judge himself, Murlidhar pointed to a broader concern, alleging a pattern of communal bias in the handling of terror investigations.
The court refused to confirm the 2015 special court judgment that had sentenced five of the accused to death and the remaining seven to life imprisonment. The blasts on July 11, 2006, killed more than 180 people and injured hundreds as seven bombs exploded on Mumbai’s suburban trains in a coordinated attack.
The appeals had stagnated in the legal system for nearly a decade, having been listed before 11 different benches without resolution. In 2024, Ehtesham Siddiqui—one of the men sentenced to death—petitioned the court for an urgent hearing. His plea led to the formation of a special bench to hear the matter.
After hearing daily arguments for five months, the bench reserved its order on January 31 this year and delivered the verdict on July 15, finally bringing closure to one of India’s most controversial terror cases.
