Acquitted 7/11 blasts accused seeks 9 crore compensation for 9 years in jail

Following the Bombay High Court’s July ruling that overturned the convictions of all 12 males within the 2006 Mumbai prepare blasts case, Wahid Deen Mohammad Shaikh, the only real individual acquitted by the trial court docket in 2015, has now sought ₹9 crore as compensation for 9 years of wrongful imprisonment.  

In an announcement issued on Friday (September 12, 2025), Mr. Shaikh stated he had approached the National Human Rights Commission, Delhi and Maharashtra; National Commission for Minorities, Government of India; Minority Development Department (Minority Commission), authorities of Maharashtra, demanding recognition of what he termed an “irreparable loss” to his liberty, dignity, and life trajectory.  

Arrested on the age of 28 underneath the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), Mr. Shaikh spent 9 years in Arthur Road Jail earlier than being acquitted by the particular MCOCA court docket on September 11, 2015. The trial court docket, presided over by Judge Y.D. Shinde, discovered no proof in opposition to him, and his acquittal has not been challenged by the State.  

“The years I misplaced, the humiliation I confronted, and the ache my household endured can by no means be undone. I used to be brutally tortured in custody, which left me with glaucoma and continual physique ache,” he stated. Before 2006, he was a college trainer.

“From 2006 to 2015 after I was lodged in Arthur Road Jail, I pursued my post-graduation in English literature and LLB,” he informed The Hindu. While in jail, he authored Begunah Qaidi (Innocent Prisoner), documenting his experiences of false implication and custodial torture. The e book impressed the 2022 Hindi movie Haemolymph: Invisible Blood. He has additionally accomplished his PhD in Prison Literature.  

After he was launched from jail, he based an all-India collective referred to as Innocence Network that works for the rights of those that have been wrongly prosecuted or convicted. He additionally began a YouTube channel referred to as Begunah Qaidi.  

“My father handed away whereas I used to be in jail, my mom’s psychological well being collapsed, and my spouse raised our youngsters alone underneath the stigma of being branded a terrorist’s household. She needed to beg for jobs as there was nobody to fend for the kids. Through neighborhood help, she secured a job in an Urdu college,” including that he continues to reside underneath a debt of almost ₹30 lakh. 

Mr. Shaikh pointed to precedents in wrongful arrest circumstances, together with that of ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan, who was awarded ₹50 lakh by the Supreme Court in 2018. He additionally cited compensation awarded by the NHRC within the circumstances of Mohammad Amir and Fauji Ansari.  

“For 10 years after my acquittal, I avoided in search of compensation out of ethical concern for my co-accused, who remained in jail. Now that they too have been acquitted, it’s clear your entire case was fabricated. My demand is just not charity, however recognition of the grave injustice inflicted upon me and my household,” he stated.