Supreme Court Restricts Use of 2006 Mumbai Blasts Acquittal in Future MCOCA Trials
The Supreme Court has temporarily halted the use of the Bombay High Court's decision to acquit all 12 individuals convicted in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case as a legal precedent in other ongoing trials under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). However, it was clarified that those acquitted do not need to return to custody.
This interim order was issued by a Bench comprising Justices M.M. Sundresh and N. Kotiswar Singh following a request from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Maharashtra government. Mehta urged the court to ensure that the findings of the High Court do not influence other MCOCA-related prosecutions.
Emphasizing the state’s position, Mehta clarified that there was no intention to reincarcerate the acquitted individuals, but the concern lay with the potential impact of the legal findings on other cases. "I am not seeking stay to bring them back to jail. That is not the intention," he stated.
Responding to these concerns, the Supreme Court noted, “Taking note of the submission made by the Solicitor General on the question of law, we are inclined to hold that the impugned judgment shall not be treated as a precedent in any other pending trials. Therefore, to that extent, we stay the impugned judgment.”
The court has also issued a notice to the acquitted individuals regarding the state’s appeal against the Bombay High Court’s ruling.
Previously, the Bombay High Court had overturned the Special MCOCA Court’s 2015 verdict, which had sentenced five of the accused to death and the remaining seven to life imprisonment. The High Court concluded that the prosecution had "utterly failed" to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
During the proceedings, the Supreme Court also acknowledged the possibility that some of the actual perpetrators could have been Pakistani nationals who had fled India and remained unapprehended.
The attacks on July 11, 2006, are among the deadliest in India’s history. Seven bombs detonated within a span of minutes on first-class coaches of suburban trains between 6:23 p.m. and 6:29 p.m., resulting in the deaths of 187 people and injuring over 800 others.
