The Bombay High Court on Monday acquitted all 12 men convicted in the 2006 “7/11” Mumbai train blasts, ruling that the prosecution had “utterly failed” to prove its case and overturning death sentences for five individuals and life terms for seven others.

Nineteen years after seven devastating blasts ripped through Mumbai’s Western Line on July 11, 2006—killing over 180 commuters and injuring hundreds—the court dramatically reversed the 2015 convictions under MCOCA. Judges Justices Anil Kilor and S.C. Chandak cited unreliable witness accounts, dubious confessions likely obtained under coercion, unverified explosive evidence, and flawed identification parades.

One of the convicts died in custody during the appeals process; the surviving 11 have spent nearly two decades behind bars. The court ordered their release unless held in other cases.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis labeled the verdict “very shocking” and announced that the state government will challenge it in the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi demanded accountability from investigative agencies, condemning the prolonged incarceration as a grave injustice with “no closure for 180 families”.

With the acquittals now final, the legal battle shifts to India’s highest court as the victims’ families continue seeking justice.