7/11 Mumbai Train Blasts Case: Bombay HC Declines To Examine Defence's Indian Mujahideen Theory

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court, in its verdict on the 7/11 serial train blasts case, has declined to give any findings on the alternative hypothesis proposed by defence lawyers — that the blasts were allegedly carried out by members of the Indian Mujahideen (IM), as claimed by one of its purported operatives, Sadiq Shaikh.

During the trial, the defence had examined Shaikh, allegedly a co-founder of IM, as a witness based on his confession statement reportedly recorded by Mumbai Police in 2008. Shaikh was arrested on September 24, 2008, from Kurla for his alleged role in a series of blasts across India that same year.

In his confession, Shaikh claimed that IM was responsible for several bombings since 2005, including the 2006 train blasts. However, he later told the court that the confession was coerced — that he was forced to memorise and recite a scripted story before a camera.

According to this narrative, bombs were planted in pressure cookers purchased from a shop in Sewri. The cookers contained detonators and explosives sourced by Riyaz Bhatkal, timers brought from Azamgarh, and were planted by Shaikh along with Amin, Dr. Shahnawaz, Sajid, and Abu Ashif.

“As per the story I was given, I arranged first-class train passes, showed them the plan, and we planted the bombs at the decided locations. After the blast, Abu Rashid disposed of the bombmaking materials in Mahim creek,” Shaikh told the court.

He was later declared hostile. Despite this, the defence relied on the statement to propose an alternate theory, which surfaced during a separate probe by another investigating agency into a different terror attack. The high court, however, declined to delve into this theory, stating: “We have already held that the prosecution has not established the offence against the accused beyond reasonable doubt through cogent evidence. In these circumstances, we do not think it necessary to go into the issue of alternative hypotheses.”