'Rarest of rare': Supreme Court on Maharashtra's plea challenging acquittal of '06 convicts
PTC News Desk: The Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned the urgency of the Maharashtra government's plea challenging the acquittal of 12 convicts in 2006 Mumbai train blasts.
The observation came from Chief Justice of India BR Gavai when the case was mentioned before his bench for the second time. "But what’s the hurry? 8 have already been released. Stay on acquittal is the rarest of rare," CJI Gavai said.
Earlier on Tuesday Solicitor General Tushar Mehta representing Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) had sought an urgent hearing of the matter citing its urgency. The court agreed to list the plea on Thursday.
On Wednesday, a state counsel brought up the case again, highlighting a flaw in the petition—specifically that the Bombay High Court had cited a passage in Hindi. The counsel assured the court that this issue would be corrected and urged that the hearing proceed as planned.
The counsel added, "We may be able to persuade the court that this is a case of the rarest of the rare."
Earlier in the week, the Bombay High Court had overturned the 2009 trial court ruling, which had sentenced five individuals (one of whom has since passed away) to death and seven others to life imprisonment for their alleged roles in the coordinated bomb blasts on Mumbai's Western Railway local line on July 11, 2006.
- With inputs from agencies
