Mumbai

The year 2025 proved significant for Mumbai’s courts, marked notably by acquittals in two of the city’s most consequential blast cases — the 2006 serial train blasts and the 2008 Malegaon blast — alongside a string of high-profile political, celebrity and constitutional rulings.

On July 21, the Bombay High Court acquitted all 12 accused in the July 11, 2006 Mumbai serial train blasts case, observing that the prosecution had “utterly failed” to prove their involvement. Seven coordinated explosions on suburban trains had killed over 180 people.

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had alleged that the accused were members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and had conspired with Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba. However, in its 671-page judgment, the high court declared all confessional statements inadmissible, noting they appeared to be “copy-pasted”.

The HC overturned the convictions awarded by the trial court. While the Maharashtra government promptly appealed to the Supreme Court, the apex court stayed the HC verdict but allowed the acquitted men to remain free pending the appeal.

Days later, on July 31, a special NIA court acquitted all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, including BJP leader Pragya Singh Thakur and Army officer Lt Col Prasad Purohit. The court ruled that the prosecution failed to produce cogent and reliable evidence to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

Six people were killed and 101 injured in the September 29, 2008 blast in Nashik district’s Malegaon town. While the NIA has not filed an appeal so far, victims’ families have moved the Bombay High Court, which has issued notices to the accused and will hear the matter.

Political protests, corruption cases and bail relief

In September, the high court intervened in the Maratha reservation agitation, rebuking activist Manoj Jarange and his supporters for paralysing south Mumbai by camping at Azad Maidan without permission. The court’s ultimatum led Jarange to call off his hunger strike.

On November 18, a Mumbai court framed charges against NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik in a money laundering case linked to the Dawood Ibrahim gang, clearing the way for trial.

Several accused in the 2018 Elgar Parishad–Maoist links case secured bail during the year on grounds of prolonged incarceration, though the trial has yet to begin.

Celebrity cases and civil liberties

Bollywood also figured prominently in court proceedings. Lyricist Javed Akhtar and actor-turned-BJP MP Kangana Ranaut ended a five-year legal battle on February 28 by withdrawing their cross-defamation cases.

Multiple celebrities approached the high court seeking protection of their “personality rights”, citing misuse of their images, voices and videos — often through AI-generated content. The court granted relief in all such cases.

Cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal and choreographer Dhanashree Verma obtained a waiver of the mandatory six-month cooling-off period for divorce by mutual consent, with the family court subsequently granting their divorce.

Comedian Kunal Kamra received interim protection from arrest in FIRs over his “traitor” remark against Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Rights, regulation and landmark rulings

In January, the HC ruled that loudspeakers are not an essential part of any religion and directed authorities to act against violations of noise pollution norms.

In March, the court restrained the Anti-Corruption Bureau from acting on a special court’s order directing registration of an FIR against former SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and five others over alleged regulatory lapses.

In May, a vacation bench granted bail to a teenage student arrested for a social media post on the Indo-Pak military conflict, criticising the state government’s “radical” response. However, in September, the court clarified that the case could not be quashed merely because the post was deleted and an apology issued.

In October, the HC dismissed industrialist Anil Ambani’s plea challenging the State Bank of India’s decision to classify his and Reliance Communications’ accounts as “fraud”.

The same month, the CBI informed the court it would not appeal the 2018 acquittal of 22 accused in the alleged fake encounter killings of gangster Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his wife Kausar Bi, and aide Tulsiram Prajapati.

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Finally, in November, the high court upheld the life sentence of a security guard convicted of murdering lawyer Pallavi Purkayastha in 2012, holding that the prosecution had proved the case beyond doubt.