# Mumbai blast acquittals restored freedom after 19 years, not lost lives 2026-08-15T07:10:21+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Bombay High Court acquitted 12 men in July 2025, overturning a 2015 Special Court verdict that sentenced five to death and seven to life imprisonment in the Mumbai local train blasts case. It found that police had tortured suspects and fabricated evidence. The Supreme Court later stayed the acquittal while Maharashtra’s appeal is heard, but allowed the men to remain free. Abdul Wahid Shaikh, acquitted in 2015, spent the next decade campaigning for his co-accused. He earned a law degree, completed a PhD and wrote a book about the case. Kamaal Ansari, one of the accused, died in custody from COVID-19 in 2021, four years before his name was cleared. ## Coverage - frontline.thehindu.com Tags: Abdul Wahid Shaikh, Bombay High Court, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Supreme Court Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/mumbai-blast-acquittals-restored-freedom-after-19-years-not-lost-lives/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/mumbai-blast-acquittals-restored-freedom-after-19-years-not-lost-lives/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.