Supreme Court will hear Maharashtra’s appeal challenging the acquittal of 12 convicts in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts. The High Court had found prosecution evidence insufficient, releasing eight convicts immediately.
Pune | 22 July, 2025: The Supreme Court is set to hear, on Thursday, a critical appeal filed by the Maharashtra government challenging the Bombay High Court’s recent decision to acquit all 12 convicts in the 2006 Mumbai train bombings case.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Maharashtra government, emphasized the urgency of the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Bhushan Gavai. “From the government’s point of view, this is a serious matter… there is an element of urgency in it,” Mehta said, pushing for an early hearing.
Despite Chief Justice Gavai noting that eight of the convicts have already been released after spending over 18 years in prison, Mehta reiterated the state’s plea for immediate attention to the case. The bench agreed to list the matter for hearing on Thursday.
This follows the Bombay High Court’s ruling on Monday that overturned the 2015 verdict by a special MCOCA court, which had sentenced five to death and seven to life imprisonment in connection with the deadly 7/11 train blasts that killed 189 and injured over 800.
The high court bench, comprising Justices Anil S. Kilor and Shyam C. Chandak, found that the prosecution had “completely failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.” Consequently, it ordered the release of all acquitted individuals, barring those facing charges in other cases. One of the original 13 accused had died of COVID-19 in 2021, while another was already out on parole.
Significantly, after the verdict, the government counsel did not request a stay on the release, allowing eight of the acquitted to walk free within hours from various jails across Maharashtra.
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