15 years after Delhi HC blast, trial in main case continues

Nearly 15 years after a bomb exploded outside the Delhi High Court, the main criminal trial in the case remains unfinished.

The September 7, 2011, attack killed 15 people and injured 79. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed its first chargesheet in March 2012, and the trial against principal accused Wasim Akram Malik began the following year.

Hundreds of witnesses have since testified before a Special NIA Court. In May 2026, the Delhi High Court was informed that the investigating officer was expected to be the final prosecution witness. One witness from the United States had been examined, while another could still be produced.

No verdict has yet been delivered in the main trial. A juvenile accused of sending an email claiming responsibility for the bombing remains the only person convicted in the case.

The Gate 5 bombing

At 10:14 am on September 7, 2011, a high-intensity improvised explosive device concealed in a brown briefcase exploded near the reception counter between Gates 4 and 5 of the Delhi High Court.

The entrance was particularly crowded because public interest litigation matters were generally heard on Wednesdays. Visitors had formed long queues at the temporary counters where entry passes were issued.

The explosion tore through the corrugated roof of the counter and left a crater in the ground. Preliminary forensic examination indicated that a nitrate-based explosive containing traces of pentaerythritol tetranitrate, or PETN, had been used. The device was packed with shrapnel and iron nails to increase the severity of injuries.

Witnesses described thick smoke, shattered glass and blood-covered pavements. Before ambulances could reach the site through the traffic, people used torn banners and police barricades as makeshift stretchers to carry the injured away.

A low-intensity explosion had occurred near Gate 7 of the High Court on May 25, 2011. It caused no casualties and was initially suspected to have been a trial run for the September attack. Investigators, however, could not establish a connection between the two incidents. The NIA later closed its investigation into the May explosion.

Emails lead investigators to Kishtwar

The Ministry of Home Affairs transferred the September bombing investigation to the NIA on the day of the attack.

The agency registered a case under provisions relating to murder, attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy, along with the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Explosive Substances Act.

Soon after the explosion, an email purportedly sent by Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami claimed responsibility. It demanded that the death sentence awarded to Afzal Guru, convicted in the 2001 Parliament attack case, be commuted.

A second email, sent in the name of the Indian Mujahideen, also claimed responsibility. Authorities cautioned at the time that the emails did not by themselves establish who had carried out the attack.

The cyber trail from the first email led investigators to Kishtwar in Jammu and Kashmir. The NIA alleged that the court had been surveyed before the bombing and that the attack had been carried out by a module linked to Hizbul Mujahideen.

The NIA filed a chargesheet against six accused on March 13, 2012. A supplementary chargesheet against a seventh accused was filed on August 27, 2013.

Malik, who was studying medicine in Bangladesh, was accused of being the principal conspirator. Amir Abbas Dev was arrested over his alleged role in arranging for the email claiming responsibility to be sent. He later became an approver and was granted pardon.

Court reverses decision on charges

In October 2012, the trial court framed charges against Malik for criminal conspiracy, murder, attempt to murder and offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Explosive Substances Act.

It initially declined the NIA’s request to frame charges relating to waging war against the Government of India. The trial court held that the political demand made in the email did not automatically establish that the bombing amounted to waging war.

The NIA challenged the decision before the Delhi High Court.

On December 3, 2012, the High Court overturned the trial court’s finding and directed it to add charges relating to waging war, conspiracy to wage war, collecting arms for that purpose and concealing such a conspiracy.

The additional charges were framed in March 2013. The trial began the following month, with Dev appearing as the first prosecution witness.

Juvenile convicted over email

A juvenile was separately tried for sending the email claiming responsibility from Kishtwar.

The Juvenile Justice Board convicted him on July 9, 2014, and sent him to a special home for three years. The board found that he had participated in the conspiracy by sending the email to media organisations after the explosion.

A Delhi court upheld his conviction and sentence in August 2016. His remains the only conviction secured in connection with the attack.

Accused killed or absconding

Several of those named by the NIA were never brought to trial.

Shakir Hussain Sheikh and Amir Kamal were reported killed in Jammu and Kashmir in 2012. Junaid Akram Malik, the brother of Wasim Akram Malik, continues to be listed among the NIA’s wanted accused.

Abu Bilal, a Pakistani national named in the supplementary chargesheet, also remains absconding.

Wasim Akram Malik has remained in custody during the trial. The proceedings have involved hundreds of prosecution witnesses, including investigators, forensic specialists and cyber experts.

During the last hearing on August 27, the Delhi High Court examined the testimony of the last prosecution witness—the investigating officer. The court will next hear the matter on November 9.