Bombay HC Took 9 Years To Decide 7/11 Blast Appeals Amid Frequent Bench Changes, Acquits All 12 Convicts

Nearly a decade after the Maharashtra government moved the Bombay High Court in 2015 to confirm the death sentences awarded to five convicts in the 2006 Mumbai train blasts case, the court delivered its verdict only on July 21, 2025, acquitting all 12 men previously convicted. The prolonged delay was largely attributed to frequent changes in benches and recusal or retirement of judges, stalling the appeals process for years.

On July 11, 2006, RDX blasts at seven locations on the suburban rail network of Mumbai in a span of 11 minutes had claimed 189 lives and injured 827 commuters. After an eight-year-long trial, 12 out of the 13 accused were convicted. Five were given the death sentence, the remaining seven were sentenced to life imprisonment, while one accused was acquitted. The state then filed death confirmation pleas, and the convicts filed appeals in response.

However, the matter languished in the high court for nearly nine years due to administrative and procedural hurdles. It first came up in January 2019 but didn’t progress, as multiple benches assigned to the case were dissolved or altered before hearing could begin.

Initially, the matter was placed before benches headed by Justices Naresh Patil, B P Dharmadhikari, and S S Jadhav, none of which heard the case as the judges were close to retirement. In 2022, prosecution submitted that a bench with Justice P K Chavan could not hear the appeals. Thereafter, Justice Ajey Gadkari recused himself. 

Another bench, led by Justice R D Dhanuka, adjourned hearings citing a heavy workload and the extensive nature of the case — 169 volumes of evidence, over 100 witnesses, and judgments running into nearly 2,000 pages.

2006 Mumbai Blasts Verdict: CM Fadnavis Expresses Shock, Says Will Challenge Bombay HC Decision In SC

In September 2023, a bench led by Justice Nitin Sambre pulled up the state for its “lack of seriousness” after it failed to appoint a special public prosecutor (SPP). It warned that the additional chief secretary of the state home department would be summoned unless an SPP was appointed within two days. Senior advocate Raja Thakare was appointed on September 8. Justice Sambre’s bench began hearing the matter but could not complete it due to his transfer in December 2023.

Later, one of the convicts on death row, Ehtesham Siddiqui, wrote a letter to the high court urging for a dedicated bench to hear the case. Finally, in July 2024, a special bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak was constituted. It conducted regular hearings for six months, reserved its verdict on January 31, and pronounced the long-awaited judgment on July 21, acquitting all 12 convicts.