"Right step," says CM Devendra Fadnavis after SC stays Bombay HC decision in 2006 Mumbai train blasts

Speaking to ANI, Devendra Fadnavis said, "We are satisfied that the Supreme Court has stayed this...The High Court had acquitted them, and that is why the Maharashtra Government had approached the Supreme Court. Today, the Supreme Court has stayed the order. I think this is the right step..."

Following the Bombay High Court's decision, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis had expressed shock and said that the Maharashtra government will challenge it in the Supreme Court.

This comes after the Supreme Court stayed the Bombay High Court's judgment on acquitting 12 accused people in connection with the 2006 Mumbai blasts.

A bench comprising Justices MM Sundresh and N. Kotiswar Singh clarified that the stay order would not affect the release of the accused persons from jail. The top courts' decision came on a plea filed by the Maharashtra government following the Bombay High Court's July 21 decision to acquit twelve persons who were accused in the 2006 train blasts.

During the hearing, the Solicitor General of India (SGI) Tushar Mehta, appearing for Maharashtra, sought a stay of the Bombay High Court judgement by contending that certain findings of the said verdict will affect other cases being probed by the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

The High Court had on Monday acquitted the twelve accused persons, noting that the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had failed to prove the offences beyond a reasonable doubt.

In doing so, the High Court set aside a September 2015 judgment of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA) court that had imposed the death penalty on five of the 12 accused persons and had sentenced the remaining seven to life.

On the evening of July 11, 2006, bomb blasts took place at seven different places in the Mumbai local trains within just 11 minutes. In this incident, 189 people died, while more than 827 passengers were injured.

The bombs were placed in first-class compartments of trains from Churchgate. They exploded near the stations of Matunga Road, Mahim Junction, Bandra, Khar, Jogeshwari, Bhayandar, and Borivali. A trial court in 2015 convicted 12 people in the blasts' case. (ANI)