The Gujarat High Court has upheld the convictions of all 49 accused in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts case, confirming death sentences for 38 convicts and life imprisonment for 11 others.
The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday upheld the convictions of all 49 accused in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts case, confirming the death penalty for 38 convicts and life imprisonment for 11 others. | ANI
The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday upheld the convictions and sentences awarded to all 49 convicts in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts case, confirming the death penalty for 38 of them and life imprisonment for the remaining 11.
A Division Bench of Justice Alpesh Y Kogje and Justice Samir J Dave dismissed the appeals filed by the convicts against the February 2022 judgment of a special court, which had convicted 49 people in one of India’s deadliest terror attacks.
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The High Court also confirmed the death sentences, as required under law before capital punishment can be carried out.
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The court directed that the families of the 56 people killed in the blasts be paid compensation of ₹10 lakh each. It also ordered compensation of ₹1 lakh each for more than 200 people injured in the attacks.
The case relates to the coordinated serial bomb blasts that struck Ahmedabad on July 26, 2008. Twenty-one explosions ripped through buses, public places and two hospitals within about 70 minutes.
The attacks killed 56 people and injured more than 200, triggering one of the country’s largest terror investigations.
According to the investigation, the Islamic terror outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) had claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Following the blasts, investigators registered 35 FIRs and filed multiple charge sheets.
The trial examined more than 1,100 witnesses along with thousands of documentary and material exhibits before the special court delivered its verdict in February 2022.
The special court convicted 49 accused and acquitted 28 others. Of those convicted, 38 were awarded the death penalty, while 11 were sentenced to imprisonment for the remainder of their natural lives.
After the verdict, all 49 convicts challenged their convictions and sentences before the Gujarat High Court, while the state government sought confirmation of the death sentences.
(With IANS inputs)
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