New Delhi: An explosion in a car near the historic Red Fort in a densely populated area in Delhi on 10 November sent shockwaves across the country. The blast brought back memories of the 2000s, when a series of terror attacks in public spaces had turned people wary in their own neighbourhoods.
The same night, the Delhi Police invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the FIR, including UAPA sections 16 and 18, concerned with terror acts and conspiracies. The FIR also included the Explosive Substances Act sections 3 and 4, invoked for explosions that cause deaths or injuries. A Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court based in Delhi last week granted the agency 10-day custody of the four accused in the case.
This case is just at the beginning of its legal journey, but several other terror cases pending in different courts tell a similar story. It entails the Supreme Court or high courts reprimanding trial courts for delays and acquittals—often due to gaps in the investigation—and families indefinitely waiting for closure that never comes.
The courts have repeatedly sought more thorough probes and quicker trials in terror cases. In the 1996 Lajpat Nagar blasts case, the Supreme Court even hinted at the actors behind trial delays. Neither the investigating agencies nor the judicial authorities displayed sufficient vigilance in the case, a 2023 SC order asserted. “To our great dismay, we are forced to observe that this may be due to the involvement of influential persons, which is evident from the fact that out of several accused persons, only a few have been put to trial,” the SC cryptically observed.
ThePrint traces the journey through courtrooms of some of the biggest terror cases in the country.
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2011 Delhi High Court blast
What happened: At 10.14 am, as lawyers and parties were starting to arrive at the Delhi High Court, a blast rocked the court premises on 7 September 2011. A bomb, which was planted in a briefcase, killed 15 and injured 79 others.
The accused: The attack was to demand the commutation of Afzal Guru’s death sentence, according to an email attributed to Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI). The NIA filed a chargesheet against six, including a minor. The accused were medical student Wasim Akram Malik, along with Amir Abbas Dev, Amir Kamal, Junaid Akram Malik, and Shakir Hussain Sheikh/Chota Hafiz.
Dev turned approver, whereas Sheikh—the court was told—died in 2012 in an encounter with the Army. The court awarded the minor a three-year sentence in a special home. The other accused are absconding.
What’s happening in the case: The main trial is going on against Wasim Akram Malik. His trial under sections of the UAPA, Explosive Substances Act, and IPC is still pending at the prosecution evidence stage, despite being listed before a lower court in Delhi more than 311 times.
The NIA had cited 277 witnesses across its charge sheet, supplementary charge sheet, and additional documents to the court, and at least two of them have since passed away.
Currently, Malik is demanding a speedy trial before the court. He even filed an appeal in the Delhi High Court, challenging the lower court’s rejection of his bail in March 2023. The high court, upon hearing his appeal, has started monitoring the progress of his trial.
In July this year, the special public prosecutor explained the delay before the high court. Most witnesses, according to him, are from Jammu and Kashmir and would have to be brought to Delhi. These include government officials, who can not turn up due to their official duties, the court was told.
The high court was informed in September this year that the matter would be taken up between 25 September and 22 November on all working days.
2010 German bakery blast in Pune
What happened: In 2010, a day before Valentine’s Day, a bomb blast ripped through the iconic German bakery in Pune, killing 17 people and leaving 56 others injured.
The accused: The NIA filed a charge sheet against Mirza Himayat Inayat Baig, who was arrested in September 2010, along with six others, shown initially as ‘absconding’. Yasin Bhatkal was later arrested in 2014. Bhatkal is alleged to be an Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative.
What’s happening in the case: The trial against Yasin Bhatkal is currently pending before a lower court in Pune. The charges against him were framed only in April 2019—five years after his arrest—owing to his stay in Delhi’s Tihar jail. Judicial records show that the prosecution failed to produce Bhatkal before the court for nearly 100 hearings. The reasons cited have ranged from security concerns over transporting him and the public funds that would have to be spent on his Delhi-Pune trip to a lack of train tickets or technical infrastructure to connect him via video conferencing from Tihar.
The trial against Baig began in December 2010 and continued for two years, four months, and eight days. In a 278-page judgment in April 2013, Additional Sessions Judge N.P. Dhote gave Baig five death sentences and several life terms. Their upturning, though, was around the corner.
In March 2016, the Bombay High Court convicted Baig for unauthorised possession of a “blackish substance” found to be RDX and forging documents—a handicap certificate, caste certificate, ration card, and domicile certificate. However, calling out the prosecution for failing to establish a conclusive link between the RDX on Baig and the German Bakery blast, the HC awarded him a life term only under the Explosive Substances Act. Now, cross appeals by the state government and Baig are pending in the Supreme Court.
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2006 train blasts in Mumbai
What happened: On 7 July 2006, blasts rocked the first-class compartments of seven local trains in Mumbai’s western suburbs within a span of 11 minutes, leaving 187 dead and 829 injured.
The accused: Thirteen men were charged under Indian Penal Code (IPC) provisions relating to murder and criminal conspiracy, the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), and the UAPA.
What’s happening in the case: Among the 13, a special court in Mumbai in 2015 sentenced Kamal Ahmed Mohd Vakil Ansari, Faisal Ataur Rahman Shaikh, Ehtesham Qutubuddin Siddiqui, Naveed Hussain Khan, and Asif Khan to death. The court awarded seven other accused life imprisonment and acquitted Abdul Wahid Din Mohammad Shaikh.
In July this year, the Bombay High Court acquitted all 12 accused after finding witness statements unreliable, saying the prosecution ‘utterly failed’ to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. The same month, the Supreme Court stayed parts of the HC’s judgment while clarifying that the accused did not have to return to prison. The move was to ensure that the HC ruling, especially the interpretation of the MCOCA, which the SC has final authority over, doesn’t set a legal precedent in other pending trials.
2008 serial blasts in Delhi
What happened: Five bomb blasts shook Delhi on 13 September 2008, exploding at Connaught Place, Karol Bagh, Greater Kailash, and India Gate. The blasts killed 39 people and injured 159 others.
Minutes after the blasts occurred, terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM) took responsibility through emails sent out to the media. Police filed five FIRs, and a team was formed under the supervision of Inspector M.C. Sharma to trace those involved.
The accused: Six days after the blast, on 19 September 2008, a raiding team of Delhi Police Special Cell reached L-18 Batla House in Jamia Nagar. An encounter followed, leading to the deaths of two suspected IM members, Atif Amin and Mohammed Sajid. Among the others, Mohd. Saif surrendered, and Shahzad Ahmed and Ariz Khan fled. Inspector Sharma also lost his life, and two other officers sustained injuries.
Shahzad was arrested in January 2010 and convicted in July 2013 for firing at officers and killing Sharma. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, but acute necrotising pancreatitis took him in 2023.
The Delhi Police Special Cell arrested Ariz Khan in 2018 from Uttarakhand’s Banbasa, which borders Nepal. According to the police, Khan acquired a Nepali citizenship card and passport under the assumed identity of ‘Mohammad Salim’. In the Batla House case, he received a death sentence in 2021. It, however, was commuted by the Delhi High Court to a life term in 2023. His case was not found to be ‘rarest of the rare’.
In the Delhi blasts case, the trials of Mohd Hakim, Mubin Kadar Sheikh, Mansoor Asghar Peerbhoy, Asadullah Akhtar, Yasin Bhatkal, Ariz Khan, Mohd Sadique, Mohd Zeeshan Ahmed, Saquib Nissar, Zia-ur-Rehman, Asif Bashiruddin Sheikh, Mohd. Saif, Mohd. Shakeel, Kayamuddin Kapadia, and Akbar Ismail Chaudhary are currently pending in the Patiala House courts.
What’s happening in the case: The prosecution’s evidence stage of the trial in the Delhi blasts case has stretched for over a decade. In 2023, while rejecting bail to accused Mubin Kadar Sheikh, the Delhi High Court noted that of the 497 witnesses cited, 198 were dropped, 282 examined, and 17 remained. It also directed the special court to hold hearings at least twice a week, considering several accused have been in custody since 2008.
However, according to court documents, the main conspirators of the Delhi blasts—alleged IM operatives Riyaz Bhatkal and Iqbal Bhatkal—are still absconding. The duo is reportedly hiding in Pakistan, along with other conspirators, Dr Shahnawaz and Amir Raza Khan.
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2008 Jaipur blasts
What happened: Serial explosions took place in crowded markets in the walled city of Jaipur in May 2008, killing 71 people and injuring 185 others. There were successive blasts at Manak Chowk Khanda, Chandpole Gate, Badi Chaupad, Chhoti Chaupad, Tripolia Gate, Johri Bazar, and Sanganeri Gate.
At each of the sites, the bombs were planted on brand new bicycles placed at crowded marketplaces near temples and police stations. In total, eight FIRs were registered. The next day, TV channels and news agencies received emails—attributed to the IM—taking responsibility for the serial bomb blasts.
The accused: Investigators, according to court documents, took the Batla House encounter as a breakthrough in the Jaipur blasts case. Agencies have told courts that Mohd. Saif, who surrendered during the Delhi shootout, submitted a disclosure statement, admitting his active role in the Jaipur case. They said he also named nine others, claiming their direct involvement in planting the bombs at various places. The trial was held against at least five accused—Mohd. Saif, Saifurrehman Ansari, Mohammed Salman, Sarvar Azami, and Shahbaz Hussain.
What’s happening in the case: In December 2019, a special court in Jaipur awarded the death penalty to Mohd. Saif, Saifurrehman Ansari, Mohammed Salman, and Sarvar Azami, while acquitting Shahbaz Hussain.
However, in 2023, the Rajasthan High Court set aside the convictions and death sentences of all four and upheld the acquittal of a fifth accused. The acquittals came in eight FIRs related to the Jaipur blasts. In the ninth FIR, about a live bomb found near the Ramchandra temple in Chandpole Bazar, Saif, Ansari, Salman, and Azami were convicted in April this year. All four were awarded life imprisonment.
While acquitting them in eight cases, the Rajasthan High Court noted that the probe had been “flawed, shoddy, and there were lapses on the part of the investigation team”. The HC directed the director-general of Rajasthan Police to initiate appropriate inquiry or disciplinary proceedings against the erring officers in the investigating team for the “flaws”. The Supreme Court is now hearing appeals filed by the state government as well as relatives of blast victims against the acquittals.
1996 Lajpat Nagar blasts
What happened: On 21 May 1996, a powerful bomb exploded in Delhi’s busy Lajpat Nagar market, killing 13 people and injuring 39 others.
The accused: Delhi Police’s Special Cell filed a charge sheet, naming 17 accused. Of them, only ten faced trial, and the remaining seven were declared “proclaimed offenders”. According to the prosecution, terrorists of the Jammu and Kashmir Islamic Front (JKIF) took responsibility for the attack.
What’s happening in the case: A total of 10 people faced trial. The court acquitted four of them in 2010 and partially convicted two before sentencing them to jail time. They were in jail during their trial, so they will not serve time beyond what they had already served. The State did not file any appeals against this part of the judgment.
The trial court also convicted Mohammad Naushad, Mirza Nisar Hussain, Mohammad Ali Bhatt, and Javed Ahmed, sentencing the former three to death. Ahmed received a life term. Later in 2012, slamming the Delhi police for “grave prosecution lapses” in its investigation, the Delhi High Court acquitted Mirza Nisar Hussain and Mohammad Ali Bhatt while commuting the death sentence of Naushad to life imprisonment, the same as Ahmed.
In July 2023, the Supreme Court stepped in and reversed the acquittals of Hussain and Bhatt, sentencing them, as well, to life terms without remission, which means they can’t apply for premature release—a remedy available to convicts after more than 14 years in jail. This latest development, since the 1996 explosion, took 27 years to come.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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