The Allahabad High Court has set aside the conviction of Mohammad Ilyas in the 1996 Modinagar-Ghaziabad bus bomb blast case on the ground that the prosecution failed to prove charges against the appellant.

A two-judge Bench comprising Justice Siddharth and Justice Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra vacated the conviction, observing that the prosecution "miserably failed" in proving the charges.

The Bench ruled that the convict's alleged confessional statement recorded by the police was inadmissible under Section 25 of the Evidence Act.

The court, in its November 10 order, said that it was passing the order of acquittal "with a heavy heart" as the "terrorist" attack shocked the conscience of society, killing 18 people.

"The prosecution has miserably failed to prove the charges that the appellan

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