Supreme Court Stays Mumbai HC's Verdict Acquitting All 12 Accused In 2006 Train Blasts Case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed a verdict delivered by the Mumbai High Court, acquitting all 12 accused in the 2006 Mumbai train bomb blasts case, reports news agency PTI.

On Monday, July 21, the Mumbai High Court acquitted all the accused in the case, saying that the prosecution completely failed to prove the case, and that it was very hard to believe that the accused committed the mentioned crime.

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However, while hearing the case, a bench of Justices MM Sudresh and N Kotiswar stated they sent notices to all the accused in the case while seeking their response to the appeal filed by the state government. The top court also said that the High Court’s verdict shall not be treated as a precedent.

Notably, the court did not stay the release of the accused from prison. The accused people have been in jail for over one decade. The court pointed out that since the accused had already been released, there was no question of returning them to jail.

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Representing the state, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, clarified that the government was not seeking re-arrest of the acquitted individuals, while requesting a stay on the judgment due to its potential impact on other ongoing trials under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crimes Act (MCOCA).

The MCOCA court had earlier sentenced five convicts to death and seven to life imprisonment, for conspiring and executing the bombs in Mumbai’s Western Railway local line on 11 July 2006. The incident known as ‘7/11 Mumbai Blasts’ had claimed 189 lives other another  820 people sustained severe injuries.