On July 11, 2006, seven bombs exploded aboard suburban trains during Mumbai’s peak evening rush hour, killing 189 and injuring over 800 commuters. The coordinated attacks tore through the lifeblood of the city’s working-class transit system and left behind scenes of horror that seared themselves into the collective memory of a nation. Nineteen years later, the wounds are still fresh—not just from grief, but from a deeper wound: that of betrayal.
The 7/11 blasts as the incident came to be known, preceded by over two years the deadly 26/11 (2008) blasts in south Mumbai, a deadly terror attack that targeted civilians at numerous sites in the southern part of Mumbai, including the Chhatrapati Shivaji railway station, the popular Leopold Café, two hospitals, and a theatre. While the initial spate of attacks ended within a few hours after they were launched around 9.30 p.m. on November 26, the terror kept unfolding at three locations where hostages were taken—the Nariman House (location of a Jewish outreach centre) the Oberoi Trident and Taj Mahal Palace & Towers five star hotels. Totally, at least 174 people, including 20 security force personnel and 26 foreign nationals, were killed. More than 300 people were injured. Nine of the 10 terrorists were killed, and one was arrested.
The coordinated 7/11 train blasts in fact preceded the 26/11 multiple terror attacks on Mumbai.
On July 18, 2024, 19 years down, the Bombay High Court acquitted all 12 men who had been wrongfully convicted in connection with the blasts, after having spent years in prison. The Court cited fabricated confessions, coerced evidence, unreliable witnesses, and procedural lapses so grave they amounted to a collapse of justice itself. Worse, these men were brutally tortured by squads of the police, treatment that is entrenched in a criminal justice system that shows communal and caste bias. Even as the innocent incarcerated walk free, acquitted by the High Court, after nearly two decade long incarcerations which in itself came with a cost, the families of the victims remain ensnared in the pain of loss—now coupled with the gnawing knowledge that the real perpetrators were never pursued with integrity or seriousness. An absence of closure that does not allow the real healing.
A verdict that reopened old wounds
“We waited for justice for 19 years,” said Yashwant Bhalerao, father of 23-year-old Harshal Bhalerao, who died in the blast on his first day of work at Ibex Software in Andheri, as reported by Free Press Journal. “When the police arrested the accused, they fought among themselves for credit. I realised then they had no real evidence,” the report provided.
Bhalerao’s frustration was echoed by other survivors and bereaved families. Saguna Bhalerao, Harshal’s mother, was in tears as she recalled the day: “I prayed he wouldn’t be on that train. His phone wasn’t ringing. But what happened was not what I prayed for. My son will never return, but the terrorists should have been punished.”
A State more eager for rushed processes than either closure or the truth
The Bombay High Court’s 671-page judgment offered an unflinching indictment of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which had investigated the case. It found that the prosecution relied on scripted confessions extracted under duress, unsupported forensic claims, and call records that were misrepresented or inconclusive.
As Justices Anil Kilor and S.C. Chandak noted, the investigation was marred by “serious infirmities,” making the convictions legally unsustainable. No eyewitnesses could place any of the accused at the blast sites. Alleged bomb-making materials were recovered without proper documentation or witnesses. As per the judgment, one witness had even testified in an unrelated blast case, calling into question the neutrality of key testimonies.
Grief meets disbelief
Anita Srivastava, whose husband Abhinav died in the blasts, now works at Malad station as a railway announcer. She was offered the job on compassionate grounds. Speaking to Hindustan Times, she said: “If those who were given the death sentence didn’t do it, why were they in jail for so long?”
Rajesh Parekh, whose father Mahendra survived with lifelong hearing damage, expressed rage at the state’s abdication of responsibility. “It has been proven again today that there is no justice in the country,” he said. “I’m moving my family abroad.”
Ameet Shrawagi, a chartered accountant who lost his father Mohan in the Bandra explosion, said the verdict was a “mockery of the justice system.” He added, as per the HT report, that “The trial court sentenced five to death and seven to life. A decade later, the High Court lets them all go free. It’s just unbelievable.”
Justice delayed, justice denied
The police and prosecution’s eagerness to close the case with a string of hasty arrests, led to a focus on vulnerable Muslim men from impoverished backgrounds, from all over India, based largely on custodial confessions. Defence lawyers and human rights groups had flagged these concerns for years.
According to LiveLaw, senior advocate Dr. S. Muralidhar, who represented two of the acquitted, said during arguments: “In such cases where there is a public outcry, the approach by police is always to first assume guilt and then go from there. Investigating agencies have failed us miserably.”
Despite these early warnings, the Special MCOCA Court in 2015 sentenced five to death and seven to life imprisonment. Only now has the High Court reversed that, but it is a cold comfort to victims who watched nearly two decades pass by with no real accountability.
A House Named After a Martyr, a Justice System That Forgot Him
Harshal Bhalerao’s parents named their new home “7/11 Harshal Smriti,” believed to be the only such memorial to a blast victim. The name stands as a personal tribute—but also a haunting reminder that their son died without the State ever seriously pursuing his killers. His father, an Income Tax officer, shared with Free Press Journal how July 11 was Harshal’s first day at his job. “I told his boss not to go easy on him just because he was my son. That was the last thing I ever said about him.”
Conclusion: A justice system adrift
The acquittal of all 12 accused has raised profound questions about India’s approach to terror investigations. When the State closes a case not with evidence but expediency, it compounds the crime: first, by failing to prevent violence; next, by misidentifying perpetrators; and finally, by denying the victims and their families the dignity of truth.
What remains is a chilling silence. No fresh investigation has been announced. Rather, the acquittal by the Bombay High Court was challenged in the Supreme Court, within one day of the judgment being delivered, surely not a reasoned or studied decision. The ATS, discredited yet unaccountable, continues as if nothing has happened. Meanwhile, the real masterminds behind one of India’s deadliest terror attacks still walk free.
Related:
2008 Jaipur blasts: Rajasthan HC acquits all four who were given death penalty
Malegaon blast case: Court rejects Pragya’s plea seeking exemption from appearing for trail
After 23 years in Prison on false charges, five Men walk out free in Samleti Blast case