No one killed 187 people

Bombay HC acquits all 12 convicts; slams prosecution for lapses

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has acquitted all 12 convicts – including five on the death row (one deceased) besides the remaining seven facing life-terms – in the July 11, 2006 serial blasts in suburban trains. The HC slammed the prosecution as it “utterly failed to establish the offence beyond the reasonable doubts” on all those found guilty by a lower court.

A division bench of Justice Anil S. Kilor and Justice Shyam C. Chandak quashed and set aside the September 30, 2015 verdict of a special MCOCA Court, and upheld all the appeals filed by the 12 convicts.

“It is unsafe to reach the satisfaction that the Appellants (convicts/accused) have committed the offences for which they have been convicted and sentenced. The statements of the witnesses were unreliable,” ruled the judges.

Disposing of the high-profile terror case, Justice Kilor and Justice Chandak also ordered that all the convicts must be released immediately after signing a Personal Recognizance (PR) bond of Rs 25,000 each, for their appearance, in case the prosecution appealed against the high court verdict.

Long awaited judgment

The much-awaited verdict came almost 19 years after a series of seven powerful RDX blasts ripped through Western Railway (WR) suburban trains during the evening peak hour rush, killing 187 and injuring more than 824 commuters in what became the world’s worst-ever terror strike on passenger railway infrastructure.

The coordinated explosions took place in the gents’ first class compartments in the crowded running local trains between like Khar Road-Santacruz, Bandra-Khar Road, Jogeshwari-Mahim Junction, Mira Road- Bhayander, Matunga-Mahim Junction and at Borivali station, paralysing the entire WR network for days.

Master planner

According to the prosecution, the master planner and key conspirator was a Pakistani, Azam Cheema alias Babaji, a Lashkar-E-Taiba commander based in Bahawalpur who also doubled up as an ISI operative, and is still a wanted fugitive in the case.

Cheema was in touch with, trained some of the convicts, including M. Faisal Ataur Rahman Shaikh, who was said to be the LeT commander in Mumbai, he received funds in foreign currency and was tasked with planning and executing the full terror strike.

Pressure cooker theory

The court also picked holes in the prosecution theory of domestic ‘pressure cookers’ used for the multiple blasts, saying that a witness, Mohanlal Kumawat had claimed some Kashmiri persons had bought eight pressure cookers from him in May 2006.

“Though his statement is relevant from the point of view of the prosecution story that the bombs were packed in cookers by the accused, he was not examined or called for the Test Identification parade,” said the judges, adding that the defence argued how some who testified were either ‘got up’ or ‘stock’ witnesses of the prosecution.

At one point in February 2008, some of the accused questioned the validity of applying MCOCA charges against them and the Supreme Court had stayed the trial, but it was vacated in April 2010.

All the 13 accused - including Wahid Shaikh who was acquitted by the Special MCOCA Court in 2015 after spending nine years in jail - were booked under Indian Penal Code, Explosives Act, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, Indian Railways Act and charges under MCOCA.

‘Real criminals must be punished’

In a strong judgement, Justice Anil S. Kilor and Justice Shyam C. Chandak shredded the prosecution case, including its famous ‘pressure cooker’ theory, and found many of the witnesses were unreliable. “Punishing the actual perpetrator of a crime is a concrete and essential step toward curbing criminal activities, upholding the rule of law, and ensuring the safety and security of citizens,” said Justice Kilor.

However, he opined that “creating a false appearance of having solved a case by presenting that the accused have been brought to justice gives a misleading sense of resolution”.

“This deceptive closure undermines public trust and falsely reassures society, while in reality, the true threat remains at large. Essentially, this is what the case at hand conveys,” observed Justice Kilor at the beginning of the voluminous verdict covering 667-pages.

What the HC said?

• The prosecution has utterly failed to prove the case against the accused. It is hard to believe that the accused committed the crime. Hence their conviction is quashed and set aside.

• The accused shall be released from jail forthwith if not wanted in any other case.

• The prosecution's evidence, witness statements and alleged recoveries made from the accused persons have no evidentiary value and hence cannot be held as conclusive for conviction.

• The prosecution has failed to even bring on record the type of bombs used in the alleged crime. Hence, the evidence of recovery is not sufficient to prove the offence against the accused.

• The confessional statements seem to have been taken after torture was inflicted upon them and were “incomplete and not truthful”. The confessional statements are vague on several aspects like planning of the conspiracy, in what containers the bombs were packed, how they were detonated, what device was used to trigger the bombs and so on. It is well known that, in most cases, police are in the habit of extorting confessions by illegal and improper means, including torture.

• The evidence given by witnesses was incredible and non-trustworthy. The witnesses include taxi drivers who drove the accused to the train station, those who saw the accused plant the bombs, those who were witness to bombs being assembled and those who were witness to the alleged conspiracy.

• The provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Syndicate (MCOCA) would not apply to this case and that sanction for the same was granted in a “mechanical manner without application of mind”.