MP Asaduddin Owaisi reacts strongly to Bombay High Court’s verdict acquitting all 12 in the 7/11 Mumbai Train Blasts case, saying there’s “no closure for 180 families.”
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NEW DELHI: Among the first public figures to respond was Hyderabad MP and AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi, who posted on X to voice his outrage and sorrow. Stating that the families of the actual victims now have no closure, he posted, “12 Muslim men were in jail for 18 years for a crime they didn’t commit”.
He asked,
“Will the government take action against the officers of the Maharashtra ATS who investigated this case?”
Owaisi highlighted the human cost of these miscarriages of justice: Two of the acquitted men lost both their parents while in prison. Another man’s wife passed away before he could speak with her one last time.
“They haven’t stepped out even for a day. The majority of their prime life is gone.”
He said,
“Innocent people are sent to jail and then years later, when they are released from jail, there is no possibility for reconstruction of their lives. From last 17 years, these accused are in jail. They haven’t stepped out even for a day. The majority of their prime life is gone.”
He added,
“In such cases where there is a public outcry, the approach by police is always to first assume guilt and then go from there. Police officers take press conferences in such cases, and the way the media covers the case, it kind of decides the guilt of a person. In many such terror cases, investigating agencies have failed us miserably.”
7/11 Mumbai Train Blasts
On July 21, 2025, the Bombay High Court acquitted all 12 men convicted in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts, including five previously sentenced to death. A division bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak held that the prosecution failed to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Court found the testimonies of prosecution witnesses unreliable and questioned the credibility of evidence, including the inability to identify the type of bomb used. It also noted that witness identification made after a 100-day gap was implausible.
On the evening of July 11, 2006, Mumbai witnessed one of the deadliest terror attacks in its history when seven coordinated bomb blasts through the first-class compartments of suburban trains operating on the Western Railway line, between 6:23 PM and 6:29 PM, during peak commuting hours.
The investigation was undertaken by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which later invoked stringent anti-terror laws, including the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). A total of 13 accused were arrested and tried, while 15 others remained absconding, including two Pakistani nationals believed to be key conspirators.
The blasts, which killed 189 and injured 824, were initially linked to terrorist groups including Lashkar-e-Taiba and local operatives of SIMI. The accused were charged under stringent anti-terror laws like MCOCA and UAPA, with convictions secured in 2015.
One of the 13 convicted, Kamal Ansari, died in prison in 2021 due to COVID-19. A special bench heard the long-pending appeals from July 2024. Senior advocates representing the accused highlighted major lapses in investigation and trial, while the State argued for confirmation of the sentences.
The High Court ultimately found the entire prosecution case flawed and unsubstantiated, leading to the historic acquittal.
Case Title: The State of Maharashtra v. Kamal Ahmed Mohd. Vakil Ansari and Ors
CONFIRMATION CASE NO. 02 OF 2015
READ JUDGMENT HERE
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