While the high court does not explicitly call the 12 men “innocent,” the opening remarks strongly suggest their innocence. The judgment, while dismantling the prosecution’s case point by point, places extra emphasis on the various torture techniques used to extract confessions from these 12 men. 7/11 Judgment Fails to Hold Police Accountable For Custodial Torture, Lost Time of Those Acquitted - The Wire
Abdul Wahid Shaikh, one of the first persons to be acquitted by the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court in 2015, names nearly 100 policemen and medical officers who wronged him and the other 12 incarcerated individuals. In his book Begunah Qaidi, he details the extent of the brutality and exposes how confessions have traditionally been extracted, particularly in cases involving torture.
India has had a poor track record on custodial torture and has compounded the issue by refusing to take responsibility for correcting police behavior or holding officers accountable. India has long evaded its responsibility and failed to ratify the United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT).
by Sukanya Shantha
23/07/2025
questions about criminal justice system https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/in-mumbai-train-blast-case-acquittal-19-years-later-raises-questions-about-criminal-justice-system-10140964/ by Meeran Chadha Borwankar The High Court acquitting all of them after 10 years shows that something is terribly amiss in the criminal justice system. If they were innocent, how do we justify their incarceration for nearly 19 years? And if they were part of the terror gang responsible for the mass killing, why are they allowed to go scot-free? Comment: Every recording/confession must be date and time stamped. And a comprehensive list of all interviews and interaction in police custody must be provided to the defense. And we as public have to be shown the process, rather than get byte to assuage public outcry..
A Remarkable Judgement Mumbai Mirror MIHIR DESAI 
(courtesy: Mumbai Mirror - awaiting a link of the above)
SSen - on Whats app 22-7-25: The gaps in this sort of path breaking judgement:
-- No compensation ordered either on the ground of torture or ruination of lives.
-- No fixing of accountability of the concerned officials of the investigating agency which took the easy and cruel path of showing up a rabbit as a tiger in order to claim solving the case and botched up the investigation.
The real culprits of the heinous crime, hence, have gone scott free and, most likely, are roaming free.
Freny M on Whatsapp Am quite shocked with this lazy regurgitation of the police versions. At the very least the reporter could have tried to speak to families to get more info.. The role of the media when covering such important cases also needs to come under scrutiny...
Do they exhibit healthy skepticism or then just toe in with police narrative which is so much easier.
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/who-12-men-acquitted-7-11-mumbai-train-blasts-case-10139460/ Written by Zeeshan Shaikh
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-editorials/terror-of-omissions/ judges have revealed about the shoddy investigation and prosecution’s negligence. HC said prosecution had “utterly failed to prove the case” beyond reasonable doubt. That such “deceptive closure undermines public trust while the true threat remains at large.” Trial court’s conviction was junked on several points that included 1) confessions were a product of torture, 2) it was ‘very odd’ that witnesses identified the accused after four years, 3) witnesses were ‘stock witnesses’, rolled out frequently, 4) it took three months before one witness claimed to have seen bombs ‘assembled’, 5) prosecution’s evidence was simply ‘not safe’ to base convictions on.
In the last set of arguments, advocate Muralidhar, who appeared for Muzzamil Ataur Rahman Shaikh, and Zameer Ahmed Latifur Rehman Shaikh looked in detail at the lapses in investigation and how the confession statements of the defendants were extracted forcefully. Under the stringent MCOCA law, confessions made before a police officer are admissible in a court, making the situation even more precarious for accused.
https://thewire.in/law/mumbai-train-blasts-all-twelve-men-acquitted-wrongful-jailed
He also had called the entire investigation a “media trial”. His entire submission focused on bringing out the biased nature of the investigation.
Murlidhar, in his written submission had argued: “Innocent people are sent to jail and then years later when they are released from jail there is no possibility for reconstruction of their lives… From last 17 years (now 19) these accused are in jail. They haven’t stepped out even for a day. The majority of their prime life is gone. In such cases where there is a public outcry, the approach by police is always to first assume guilt and then go from there.”
On the behaviour of the police, Muralidhar had said: “Police officers take press conferences in such cases, and the way the media covers the case, it kind of decides the guilt of a person. In many such terror cases, investigating agencies have failed us miserably.”
21/07/2025