The Supreme Court on Thursday put a hold on the recent Bombay High Court judgment that acquitted 12 men convicted in the deadly 2006 Mumbai serial train blasts. In a significant clarification, the court stated that while the legal findings of the judgment are stayed, the men, who have already been released, will not be sent back to prison pending the appeal.
The intervention came after the Maharashtra government filed an urgent appeal challenging the High Court's decision. Appearing for the state, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that the stay was not intended to re-incarcerate the men but to prevent the High Court's legal interpretations from affecting other ongoing trials under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA).
"These are certain findings of law given by the court which would be affecting all our MCOCA trials," Mehta submitted. Acknowledging this concern, the Supreme Court bench ordered that the High Court's judgment "shall not be treated as a precedent in any other case."
The Supreme Court's order follows the Bombay High Court's decision on Monday to overturn a 2015 special court verdict. The special court had originally sentenced five of the accused to death and seven to life imprisonment for their roles in the blasts, which killed 189 people and injured over 800 on July 11, 2006.
In its ruling, the High Court had raised serious doubts about the prosecution's case, questioning the trustworthiness of certain witnesses and the validity of the Test Identification Parades used to identify some of the accused.
To sum up, the case is now in a state of legal suspension. The 12 men remain free, but their acquittal is under review by the nation's highest court. The final outcome of this appeal will have profound implications, not only for those accused in one of India's most devastating terror attacks but also for the future of how organized crime cases are prosecuted in the state.
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