Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Tuesday approached the Supreme Court challenging the verdict of the Bombay High Court that acquitted all the accused in the 7/11 Mumbai train blasts case of 2006.
Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta mentioned the plea before a bench led by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai, seeking an urgent listing, saying it was an “urgent matter.” “It is a serious matter. The SLP is ready. Please list it tomorrow. There is urgency,” Mehta submitted.
The CJI said he had read in newspapers that eight of the 12 convicts had already been released from prison following the High Court’s judgment. When Mehta emphasised that some “important issues” needed to be looked at, the CJI agreed to list the matter for hearing on July 24.
On Monday, a special bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak acquitted all 12 accused, noting that the prosecution had “utterly failed” to prove the case and that it was “hard to believe they committed the crime.” Of these, five were sentenced to death, while the remaining seven were sentenced to life imprisonment. One of the accused died in prison in 2022 due to COVID-19 while his appeal was pending. The judges said that the benefit of acquittal is extended to the deceased person as well.
On July 11, 2006, RDX blasts at seven locations on Mumbai’s suburban rail network, within a span of 11 minutes, claimed 189 lives and injured 827 commuters.
The special MCOCA court in 2015 had convicted 12 and acquitted one, Abdul Wahid Shaikh. The state had approached the High Court seeking confirmation of the death sentences awarded to five of the convicts. Those convicted had also challenged their convictions.
Four of the accused who were awarded death sentences are Mohammad Faisal Shaikh, Ehtesham Siddiqui, Naveed Hussain Khan, Asif Khan, all of them bomb planters. The fifth accused sentenced to death, Kamal Ahamed Ansari, also an alleged bomb planter, died due to Covid in 2022.
The other seven – Tanvir Ahmed Ansari, Mohammad Majid Shafi, Shaikh Alam Shaikh, Mohd Sajid Ansari, Muzzammil Shaikh, Soheil Mehmood Shaikh and Zamir Ahmad Shaikh – have also approached the HC, challenging their life imprisonment.
The High Court, while acquitting all the accused, flagged the “barbaric” and “inhuman” torture inflicted upon them to “extort” their confessional statements.
“The accused succeeded in establishing the fact of torture inflicted on them to extort confessional statements,” the HC said in a detailed 671-page judgment.
The HC had directed that the accused be released forthwith if they were not required in any other case. It had also directed them to execute a personal bond of ₹25,000 each to ensure their presence in case an appeal was filed by the state.
The Jamiat Legal Cell, which provided legal assistance to the accused, said they had not yet received any notice from the apex court. “We have come across the information through the media that the state government has challenged the Bombay High Court’s verdict in the Supreme Court. The accused have not yet received any notice from the Supreme Court. If the Supreme Court issues a notice on July 24, the accused will receive it and respond accordingly,” advocate Shahid Nadeem of the Jamiat Legal Cell told FPJ.
