Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday upheld the death sentence awarded to 38 convicts and the life imprisonment of 11 others in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case, affirming the 2022 judgment of a special court and rejecting all appeals filed against the convictions and sentences.
A division bench of Justices AY Kogje and Samir Dave confirmed the verdict after hearing appeals challenging the special court’s decision, which had found 49 accused guilty in one of India’s deadliest terror attack cases.
The serial blasts, carried out on July 26, 2008, involved 21 coordinated explosions across Ahmedabad within about 70 minutes. The attacks claimed 56 lives and left more than 240 people injured. Investigators had alleged that the bombings were orchestrated by members of the banned terror outfit Indian Mujahideen.
The special court had, in February 2022, acquitted 28 of the 77 accused for lack of evidence while convicting 49 others. Of those convicted, 38 were sentenced to death and 11 to life imprisonment, a verdict that was subsequently challenged before the High Court.
In its ruling, the High Court dismissed the appeals filed by the convicts and upheld the sentences awarded by the trial court. The court also directed the Gujarat government to provide compensation to victims’ families, including Rs 10 lakh to the kin of those killed, Rs 5 lakh to those who suffered grievous injuries and Rs 1 lakh to those who sustained simple injuries in the blasts.
