Shaking the very premise of the counter terrorist discourse in India, the Bombay High Court has overturned by acquittal all twelve people who were earlier sentenced to death in relation to the 2006 Mumbai train bombings case, one of the most tragic terrorists attacks the country has ever known. This was the first of its kind conviction that came 19 years after the tragic bombings that claimed the 187 lives and wounded more than 800 individuals and is not just painful to the reputation of the Indian justice and security system but also significant political drawback to the Modi administration. Although, the Maharashtra government has promised an appeal in the Supreme Court, the tarnishing of the reputation of the state and the political status quo is currently unalterable.
Anatomy of a Tragedy
At 6:23 pm on the evening of July 11, 2006, the most unthinkable thing occurred in the crowded local trains of Mumbai during the normal peak hours when the city was chugging towards home. There were seven bombs of the first-class compartments in the suburban railway system, and they took place within six minutes. Harm and destruction ran amok in the city. The car cases littered the platforms of trains the steel coaches were smeared with blood and the survivors reported of sheer horror that was so hard to believe. The attack was instantly declared as a terror attack. According to the Indian government and media there were obvious suspects, groups of militants, which were organized in Pakistan and especially, Lashkar-e-Taiba carried out the hideous act. A convoluted conspiracy account rapidly was developed connecting the accused to Azam Cheema and other supposed Pakistan handlers.
After a few weeks the Anti-Terrorist Squad of India (ATS) detained 13 suspects citing the draconian Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MACOCA) and accusing them of the act of terrorism conspiracy and murder. In 2015, five of them were sentenced to death by a special court whereas the rest seven people were provided with life sentences. However today ten years down the line the high court has overturned these findings claiming the case made by the prosecution relied on unreliable witnesses, false stories and zero credible testimony.
Judicial Reversal
The judgment that was given by the High Court in terms of 667 pages that was authored by Justices Anil Kaler and Shyam Chandak is on re-evaluation of the case by the prosecution. Referring to the testimony of 92 prosecution witnesses and 58 of more than 52 defence witnesses over 75 hearing the court convincingly came to the tragic conclusion that there was no justification of needed level of the given case conviction. The court noted the major procedural flaws Identity parades was not conducted properly there was lacking a credibility of main witnesses and of forensic evidence and of call records. Moreover, MACOCA activation was inappropriate and irresponsible.
The judgment in its damning conclusion underlined that even though it is important that those who perpetrated crime are also punished as part of justice it is also essential that criminal justice is not done which is by wrongly involving innocent persons into the matter just so that a matter can be duly said that it has been resolved. The court noted that there is no real need of observing this so-called connection with Azam Cheema and Lashkar-e-Taiba since it could have been proven by mere use of call data records yet surprisingly no such records were produced. The inference was obvious the prosecution perhaps constructed a political case, rather than a legal one.
The embarrassment by the Modi Government
Even though the arrest and convictions are not part of the Narendra Modi era the fact that the narrative about accusing Pakistan and singling out some Indian Muslims as suspects continues to be part of the wider script of the BJP regime makes it an ideological game. Since 2014, the Modi government has politicized national security and even simplified complicated geopolitical situations to black and white politics. Be it Pulwama, the Balakot air attacks or the numerous cross border allegations the state of Pakistan had to face in UN forums, the Indian government constantly cast Pakistan to be the hub of terrorism.
The fact that the accused man proved innocent in the Mumbai train blasts comes as a big blow to this story. It is now throwing up awkward questions were these men imprisoned in 18 years to serve a political script? How come the investigative agencies have not gone after the true suspects based on real facts? And when the prosecution itself refers to its accusations as being groundless even on the very courts of India, what ethical stand does New Delhi have to occupy as long as they keep directing fingers at the other side of the border?
The decision also dilutes the diplomatic case of India who has been stating at the international forums repeatedly that Pakistan is a state sponsor of terrorism. To a great degree it casts the searchlight internally highlighting the shoddiness and political manipulation of the Indian law and order and judicial system itself.
Human Cost of False Convictions
The worst part of this case is that the lives of wrong convicted people are forever destroyed. Among the accused a death sentence case Kamal Ansari died in jail in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Struck off the record after his death his predicament is an ugly reminder of what the innocent may pay under the banners of national security. The other acquitted are the victims who have lost 18 valuable years of their life they have suffered incomprehensible mental trauma, and their reputation has been ruined by the state that was not able to provide the fair trial. It can be followed by apologies and compensations but never could bring back what was stolen by these men and their families.
This is not the case of a mere law development; it is an ethical decision about what has happened to the justice system and political rhetoric of India. It reveals the threats of the prosecution system that can be shaped by political greed the threat of believing unverified intelligence information as a dogmatic truth positive and the evils of the anti-terror legal system in India. It requires a national soul searching. Rather than rejoicing in the political mileage of the act of terror. India needs to invest in fixing its investigation agencies, depoliticizing its courts and making justice and not expedience be the motor of action on the part of government in the face of tragedy.
The future road seems to be difficult but clear to the Modi government. It must choose, whether it is going to stick with the road of denial and avoidance or at least face the inconvenient reality exposed by this groundbreaking judgement. The world is observing, and the history will recall.
