July 24, 2025 - The Supreme Court on Thursday July 24 pronounced a stay on the Bombay High Court verdict acquitting all 12 accused in the 2006 Mumbai train bomb blasts case and said the High Court judgement shall not be treated as a precedent. This order was given by the Apex Court on a petition filed by the Maharashtra government challenging the High Court acquittal.

This ruling was issued by a Bench comprising of Justices MM Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh. The Bench issued a notice to all the accused in the case but did not stay the release of the accused from prison.

On July 21, the Bombay High Court had quashed the 2015 judgement of a special Court of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA) which had given death sentence to five and life imprisonment to seven of the accused of the 2006 bomb blasts. The High Court acquitted all the 12, saying it was "hard to believe the accused committed the crime" and that the prosecution had not been able to convince the Court otherwise. The Court also noted that the accused had been tortured by ATS officers who were then under pressure to catch the culprits.

Maharashtra Government counsel Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had sought a stay on the verdict. He, however, did not press for a stay on the acquittals.

The Supreme Court order said, “We have been informed that all the respondents have been released and there is no question of bringing them back to the prison. However, taking note of the submission made by the SG on the question of law, we are inclined to hold that the impugned judgment shall not be treated as a precedent. To that extent, there is a stay of the impugned judgment."

More than 180 people were killed in the seven bomb blasts that occurred on several Mumbai local trains within a span of 11 minutes on July 11, 2006.