2006 Mumbai bomb blasts: Maharashtra govt moves SC against HC verdict acquitting 12 accused; Fadnavis called order 'shocking'

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear on July 25 a special leave petition filed by the Maharashtra government challenging the Bombay High Court’s verdict acquitting all 12 accused in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case.Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state, told the bench of CJI B R Gavai, Justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria that the matter is of utmost urgency. “It is a serious issue and requires urgent hearing,” Mehta said, adding that the state had already filed the appeal against the high court’s judgment, which overturned the convictions, including death sentences for five of the accused.The bench noted that according to media reports, eight of the 12 acquitted individuals have already been released from prison.

Responding, Mehta confirmed, “Yes, they have been released. Yet, this matter needs urgent hearing.”On Monday, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed shock at the Bombay high court’s decision. “The verdict of the Bombay high court is very shocking and we will challenge it in the Supreme Court,” Fadnavis said.The ruling by the Bombay high court set aside the 2015 judgment of a special MCOCA court that had convicted the 12 accused for the serial blasts on Mumbai’s suburban railway network on July 11, 2006.

The blasts had killed 189 people and injured over 800.The high court, in its 671-page judgment, said the prosecution had failed to establish the type of explosives used, and found the confessional statements inadmissible due to allegations of torture. The court also raised doubts over witness credibility and procedural lapses in the identification process.Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi criticised the state government following the verdict.

“This is very sad, instead of giving them the death penalty, they have been acquitted. This shows that the case we presented was not foolproof, it had loopholes; I believe this is the fault of the state government. The state government did not take it seriously and present a serious argument, which is why this decision has come.

.. I hope that Maharashtra's Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the Chief Minister, will challenge this Court verdict...”BJP leader Kirit Somaiya also raised concerns over the ruling, saying, “In these 19 years, several members of their families died, they migrated, they forgot about it. But this is a huge jolt that after 19 years, it is being said that nothing had happened. An incident did take place, it was expected of the judiciary to pronounce a punishment. But they were pronounced innocent. Does this mean that there was fraudulence in the lower court or were there issues in the 2006 investigation? But topmost legal experts will do a presentation before the Supreme Court and there will be justice.

”The acquitted individuals had been held under the stringent MCOCA law and had spent nearly two decades in jail. The HC ruling has sparked widespread reactions, with political and legal circles divided over the implications for the justice system and the conduct of the investigation.