Now Reading: Mumbai blast acquittals restored freedom after 19 years, not lost lives
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Mumbai blast acquittals restored freedom after 19 years, not lost lives
Mumbai blast acquittals restored freedom after 19 years, not lost lives
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…
The Story in Brief
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.
The Indian Opinion
The loudest narratives often treat acquittal as either proof that every terror investigation is corrupt or as a technical escape for guilty men. Neither view fits the court’s finding of torture and fabricated evidence, or the Supreme Court’s decision to keep the appeal alive. The deeper failure is unequal publicity: accusations made national news, while exoneration barely did. The final legal test is the Supreme Court’s ruling on Maharashtra’s appeal, alongside accountability for officials if fabrication is confirmed.
Source: frontline.thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
