July 2006 serial train blasts case: Bombay HC reserves judgment on appeals

Mumbai, Jan 31 (PTI) The Bombay High Court on Friday closed for judgment the appeals seeking confirmation of death penalties and jail sentences imposed on 12 persons in the July 2006 serial train blasts case.

A division bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Shyam Chandak has been hearing the appeals for five months on a daily basis, with convicts lodged in different prisons in the state attending via video conference.

On Friday, the bench said all lawyers have completed their arguments.

"If any of the accused want to say anything, we can allow them to do so for two minutes," the HC said.

One of the convicts, Naved Hussain, lodged in Nagpur prison, told the court he was implicated in the case.

When no other convict spoke, the bench thanked everyone and said "closed for judgment".

Seven blasts ripped through Mumbai local trains at various locations on Western Railway, killing over 180 persons on July 11, 2006.

In September 2015, the trial court convicted 12 accused, awarding capital punishment to five and life imprisonment to seven.

The Maharashtra government subsequently filed an appeal in the High Court seeking confirmation of the death penalty, which is a mandatory legal requirement.

The convicts also filed appeals challenging their conviction and sentences.

Since 2015, the pleas were not taken up even after the matter came up for hearing before 11 different benches.

In 2024, Etheshaam Siddiqui, who was handed the death penalty, filed an application in the HC seeking its intervention, expeditious hearing, and disposal of the appeals. PTI SP BNM