New Delhi/Mumbai: In a significant development, the Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the Bombay High Court’s recent order acquitting all 12 accused in the 2006 Mumbai serial train blast case. The apex court also issued notices to all 12 individuals and directed them to respond within four weeks.
The decision came after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Maharashtra government, urgently sought an intervention, expressing serious concerns about the acquittals’ legal and security implications. A bench of Justices M.M. Sundaresh and N.K. Singh, hearing the state’s appeal, remarked that the High Court’s verdict will not be treated as a precedent.
Two of the 12 acquitted individuals were released from Nagpur Central Jail on Monday evening after the Bombay High Court had ruled that the prosecution had failed to conclusively establish their involvement. However, the Supreme Court clarified that while it is not ordering their re-arrest, the gravity of the case—especially the cross-border angle involving some accused allegedly being Pakistani nationals—warrants careful judicial scrutiny.
“The matter has serious national security implications. We’ve read the file. Some accused are foreign nationals,” the bench observed, underlining the need for a detailed examination.
Earlier, on July 21, the Bombay High Court had overturned the trial court’s conviction, citing insufficient evidence and unreliable witness accounts. It had ordered the release of the accused unless they were wanted in other cases. The acquittal came nearly 18 years after coordinated blasts on Mumbai’s suburban trains killed over 180 people and injured more than 800.
The Supreme Court’s stay now pauses the High Court’s order and reopens the legal debate on one of India’s most devastating terror attacks.
