Maharashtra should appeal against verdict in SC, says former ATS chief KP Raghuwanshi

Speaking to The Indian Express, Raghuvanshi said, “I believe we had made a very strong case on the basis of which the trial court had convicted the accused. Now, ATS will examine the judgment, and in consultation with the PP (public prosecutor) and other legal experts, they will decide on the appeal. In my opinion, they should definitely go to the appeal against the judgment.”

“We are pretty sure that we have done a good investigation and collected ample evidence; that’s the reason why the trial court had convicted the accused previously. I retired from ATS for more than 10 years ago. The current ATS chief’s team will examine the judgment and decide on the appeal. I believe they should appeal against the verdict in the Supreme Court of India,” Raghuvanshi added.

As many as 15 ATS officers investigated the train serial blasts that occurred on July 11, 2006, in seven western suburban coaches of a train, killing 189 commuters and injuring 824.

ATS arrested Kamal Ahmed Mohd Vakil Ansari from Bihar, Mohammad Faisal Ataur Rahman Shaikh from Mumbai, Ehtesham Qutubuddin Siddique from Thane, Naveed Hussain Khan from Secunderabad, and Asif Khan Bashir Khan from Jalgaon in Maharashtra. All of them were previously found guilty of planting the bombs by the trial court.

Besides this, ATS also arrested Tanveer Ahmed Mohammed Ibrahim Ansari, Mohammed Majid Mohammed Shafi, Shaikh Mohammed Ali Alam Shaikh, Mohammed Sajid Margub Ansari, Muzammil Ataur Rahman Shaikh, Suhail Mehmood Shaikh, and Zameer Ahmed Latifur Rehman Shaikh, who were awarded life terms. One of the accused, Wahid Shaikh, who was arrested by ATS, was acquitted by the trial court after spending nine years in jail.

ATS investigators had recorded statements of around 250 witnesses, including 92 prosecution witnesses, and gathered evidence spanning over 169 volumes.

Validating ATS’s investigation, and after an over eight-year trial, a special court under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA) in October 2015 awarded the death penalty to five of the convicts and life terms to seven others.

However, nine years later, the Bombay High Court set aside the previous verdict. “It is unsafe to reach the satisfaction that the accused appellants have committed the offence for which they have been convicted and sentenced. Therefore, the previous judgment and order of conviction and sentence are liable to be quashed and set aside,” the court said.

An ATS officer said that they are closely analysing the high court order that set aside the trial court verdict, which validated anti-terrorism agency’s investigation.

In an official statement, the Maharashtra ATS on Monday stated that its Mumbai office is taking further decisions after consulting with the special prosecutor of the case and analysing the results.

Most of the senior officers part of the core investigation of the case have retired from service and were not available for comment on the Monday’s development.