The Supreme Court is hearing the Maharashtra government’s petition against the Bombay High Court’s decision to acquit all twelve convicts involved in the 2006 Mumbai train bombings that killed 189 people.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Maharashtra, informed a bench headed by Chief Justice of India B R Gavai that the State required an urgent hearing in the matter, stating, “It is a serious matter for the state… There is urgency.”

On Monday, the Bombay High Court overturned the September 2015 judgement of a special court set up under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) which had sentenced five convicts to death and a further seven to life imprisonment in the 7/11 Mumbai train bombings.

The convicts have now spent some 18 years in jail. The special court acquitted one person but the state did not appeal the acquittal in the High Court. One person died during their time in prison.