Delayed and denied

Both the Malegaon and Mumbai blast cases fell apart in court. What does it say about India's justice system?

- BY DNYANESH JATHAR AND POOJA BIRAIA

Two cases of bomb blasts.

Two judgments. And no justice.

The first: the Mumbai railway blasts of July 2006. The second: the Malegaon blasts of September 2008. The Mumbai blasts killed nearly 200 people and injured more than 800. The Malegaon explosions claimed six lives and left nearly 100 injured. Both cases have now ended in acquittals—crushing the hopes of families of victims and survivors and even the state itself.

In both trials, the courts pointed out serious investigative lapses. In the railway blasts case, the Bombay High Court acquitted all 12 accused, overturning a special court judgment that had awarded five death sentences and seven life imprisonments. The court said confessions were forced and witnesses were tutored.

A special bench of Justices Anil Kilore and Shyam Chandak of the Bombay High Court said the prosecution failed to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The court questioned the credibility of prosecution witnesses and accepted the claims of the accused that their confession statements were extracted under torture. The judges also noted that the handwritten statements of the accused showed identical responses—suggesting that they were dictated. “Even if it is presumed that a format of questions were used by them (interrogators) for their convenience, it cannot be ignored that the answers are identical [and] verbatim, which is highly improbable if not copied…,” the bench said.

In the Malegaon case, a special NIA court of Justice A.K. Lahoti said the prosecution's evidence, while it had created “serious suspicion”, was not strong enough to prove the guilt of the accused beyond doubt. All seven accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, were acquitted.