New Delhi, Jul 24: The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the Bombay High Court’s recent judgment acquitting eleven men in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case, but only to the limited extent that it shall not be treated as a precedent in other cases, Bar & Bench reported.
A Bench of Justices MM Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh declined to stay the release of the accused, nine of whom have already walked free, while two remain in custody due to other pending cases. One accused, Kamal Ansari, had died in prison in 2021. “We will say the impugned judgment is not treated as precedent in any other cases. Therefore, to that extent, let there be a stay on the impugned judgment,” the Court said as reported by Bar & Bench.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Maharashtra government, argued that the ruling could impact other ongoing trials under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). He urged the Court to stay the judgment—not the release—citing legal ramifications. “So far as stay is concerned, I am not on liberty (of the accused). There are some findings which will affect all our MCOCA trials,” Mehta submitted.
The Court agreed and issued notices to the acquitted men. “Let the parties come. We will hear them and decide,” the Bench said. The High Court had, in its ruling, sharply criticised the investigation, stating that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and had given the public a “misleading sense of resolution.” It observed that serious lapses marred the case and held that punishing innocent individuals only provided “deceptive closure” while the real culprits remained unidentified.
The July 11, 2006 blasts had killed 187 people and injured over 800 when seven bombs exploded in first-class compartments on Mumbai’s suburban trains. A special MCOCA court had in 2015 sentenced five to death and seven to life imprisonment. The Bombay High Court later overturned all convictions. (Source Bar & Bench)
