Ahmedabad : The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday upheld the special court verdict sentencing 38 convicts to death and 11 others to life imprisonment in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case, in which 56 people were killed and 246 injured. The high court also directed the Gujarat government to pay compensation to the victims or their families — Rs 10 lakh in cases of death, Rs 5 lakh for grievous injuries and Rs 1 lakh for simple injuries.
The compensation has been ordered to be paid by March 31, 2027. A series of bomb blasts had rocked Ahmedabad on July 26, 2008, while bombs were also found in Surat two days later. The city crime branch had named over 100 accused in its investigation, of whom 78 were put on trial. In February 2022, a special court had convicted 49 people and acquitted 28 others.
Those acquitted included Mubin Shaikh and Mansur Pirbhoy, who had been accused of hatching the conspiracy and sending threat emails claiming responsibility for the attacks. The trial court had also pardoned one approver, while four others who later retracted their statements were convicted. The 2008 blasts were notable for targeting hospitals for the first time. Emails sent in the name of the accused had claimed the attacks were revenge for the 2002 post-Godhra violence in Gujarat.
A division bench of Justice AY Kogje and Justice SJ Dave heard the appeals against the special court’s February 8, 2022 judgment, which ran into 7,015 pages. The high court also heard the state government’s plea seeking confirmation of the death penalty awarded to 38 convicts. The trial was conducted after clubbing together 35 cases — 20 FIRs registered in Ahmedabad in connection with the blasts and 15 in Surat, where bombs had been planted but did not explode.
Those convicted were punished under provisions of the IPC, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Explosive Substances Act and other laws. Among the 49 convicts are Safdar Nagori, a former leader of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), and several of his associates from 11 states, including Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh. Investigators had claimed the accused had regrouped under a new outfit called Indian Mujahideen.
The trial court had convicted the accused on charges including murder, attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy, sedition, attempting to wage war against the nation, unlawful activities and terrorist acts under various provisions of the IPC, UAPA, the Explosive Substances Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
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