In a historic judgment delivered on July 21, 2025, the Bombay High Court acquitted all 12 individuals previously convicted in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case, citing lack of credible evidence and procedural lapses. The verdict comes nearly two decades after the coordinated bombings on Mumbai’s Western Railway line killed 189 people and injured over 800 others.
Who Were the Accused?
The acquitted individuals include:
Death Row Convicts (5):
Kamal Ansari (Bihar) – died in 2021 due to COVID-19 in Nagpur prison
Mohammad Faisal Ataur Rahman Shaikh (Mumbai)
Ehtesham Qutubuddin Siddiqui (Thane)
Naveed Hussain Khan (Secunderabad)
Asif Khan Bashir Khan (Jalgaon, Maharashtra)
Life-Term Convicts (7):
Tanveer Ahmed Mohammed Ibrahim Ansari
Mohammed Majid Mohammed Shafi
Shaikh Mohammed Ali Alam Shaikh
Mohammed Sajid Margub Ansari
Muzammil Ataur Rahman Shaikh
Suhail Mehmood Shaikh
Zameer Ahmed Latiur Rehman Shaikh
One additional accused, Wahid Shaikh, had already been acquitted by the trial court in 2015 after spending nine years in jail.
Why Were They Acquitted?
The High Court bench, comprising Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak, ruled that the prosecution had “utterly failed” to prove the case. Key reasons included:
Inadmissible confessional statements allegedly obtained under torture
Lack of forensic clarity on the type of explosives used
Flawed identification parades and unreliable witness testimonies
Poor handling and sealing of recovered materials.
The court concluded that the evidence was not safe to rely on, and ordered the release of all accused unless wanted in other cases.