New Delhi, July 24: The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the Bombay High Court verdict that acquitted all 12 accused in the 2006 Mumbai train bombings, but clarified that they need not return to jail for now. The apex court also ruled that the high court’s decision must not be treated as a precedent in other cases.
A bench comprising Justices MM Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh issued notices to all the accused and sought their replies to the Maharashtra government’s appeal challenging the high court’s ruling.
“We have been informed that all the respondents have been released and there is no question of bringing them back to prison. However, taking note of the solicitor general’s submissions on the question of law, we are inclined to hold that the impugned judgment shall not be treated as a precedent,” the bench said.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state, argued that the high court’s July 21 verdict could adversely impact pending trials under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). He requested the court to stay the verdict in light of its wider implications.
Justice Sundresh asked whether all the accused had been released and also inquired about Pakistani nationals named in the case. A state counsel clarified that those individuals were never arrested.
The Bombay High Court, in its now-stayed ruling, had acquitted all 12 men, citing complete failure of the prosecution to establish guilt. “It is hard to believe the accused committed the crime,” the court had observed.
Of the 12 accused, five had been sentenced to death and seven to life imprisonment by a special MCOCA court. One death-row convict died in custody in 2021.
The July 11, 2006 blasts, which ripped through Mumbai’s suburban trains in a coordinated attack, killed over 180 people and injured hundreds more. The case has remained one of the most high-profile terror trials in India.
