Bombay HC acquits all 12 accused in 7/11 Mumbai train blasts

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted all 12 individuals convicted in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case, stating that the prosecution had "utterly failed" to establish their guilt.

The judgment comes 19 years after the terror attack that shook the city's Western Railway network, resulting in the loss of over 180 lives and leaving several others injured.

A special bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak said the evidence relied on by the prosecution was not conclusive to convict the accused persons. "The prosecution has utterly failed to prove the case against the accused. It is hard to believe that the accused committed the crime. Hence, their conviction is quashed and set aside," the HC said.

The bench said it refuses to confirm the death penalty imposed on five of the convicts and also the life imprisonment on the remaining seven, and acquitted them. The court said the accused shall be released from jail forthwith if not wanted in any other case.

A special court in 2015 convicted the 12 persons in the case, of whom five were sentenced to death and the remaining seven were given life imprisonment.

After the HC's judgment was pronounced on Monday, the convicts, who were produced before the court via video conference from various jails across the state, thanked their lawyers. 

On July 11, 2006, seven blasts ripped through Mumbai local trains at various locations on the western line, killing more than 180 persons and injuring several others.