LI Network
Published on: 09 September 2023 at 18:30 IST
The Maharashtra government has officially designated Senior Advocate Raja Thakare as a special public prosecutor to represent the state in confirmation petitions and appeals stemming from the 2006 Mumbai train blast cases.
This decision was communicated to a division bench comprising Justices Nitin Sambre and Rajesh S Patil in the Bombay High Court.
The government’s action followed a stern reprimand from the court on September 6, which criticized the state’s perceived lack of seriousness in handling the cases linked to the train bombings.
After informing the court of its choice, the division bench announced its intention to commence hearings on the confirmation petitions from October 5, conducting them on a day-to-day basis without permitting any adjournments.
On July 11, 2006, a series of RDX blasts at seven locations within Mumbai’s suburban rail network resulted in 189 fatalities and 800 injuries.
Following an eight-year trial, 12 out of the 13 accused individuals were found guilty. In 2015, the Special Court, acting under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA), sentenced five of the 12 convicts to death.
Subsequently, one of the five convicts passed away in 2021 due to COVID-19. The remaining individuals received life sentences.
The State of Maharashtra then approached the High Court seeking confirmation of the death sentences, as required by law. Additionally, all of the accused filed appeals contesting their respective sentences.
During the recent court hearing, a counsel representing one of the convicts requested a hearing scheduled for six weeks later, as opposed to the initially proposed four-week timeline. However, the division bench denied this request and emphasized that no adjournments would be granted under any circumstances.
The convicts’ legal representative also asked the court to summon the presence of the convicts in the courtroom during proceedings. Raja Thakare, along with additional public prosecutor Mankuwar Deshmukh, argued that due to security concerns, physical presence should be ruled out. Instead, Thakare sought permission for the convicts to attend virtually.
The court has scheduled the discussion on permitting physical presence for October 3.