2008 Ahmedabad blasts case: Special court pronounces death sentence to 38 out of 49 convicts

Ahmedabad serial bomb blast case took place in Ahmedabad in July 2008. A special court has sentenced 38 of the 49 convicts to death for carrying out 21 bomb blasts in one hour. The accused were convicted by a special court on February 8. Twenty-eight people were acquitted. The case was being heard in a special court for 13 years. The matter has finally been decided today. This is the first time in the country that such a large number of convicts have been sentenced to death. The court had concluded the trial against the 77 accused in September last year. Out of the 78 accused put on trial, one had turned approver. The police had claimed that the people associated with terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM), a faction of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), were involved in the blasts.

As many as 1163 people testified in the case. Police and investigators had presented 6,000 pieces of evidence in court.

Ahmedabad Special Court Judge Ambalal Patel prepared 6,752 page judgments. The court acquitted 28 people in the bomb blast case due to lack of evidence. This is the first time that 49 accused have been convicted simultaneously on terrorism charges. The convicts have also been convicted under Section 302 (murder) of the Bhadanvi and UAPA.

According to the prosecution, IM terrorists had planned the bomb blasts to avenge the 2002 post-Godhra communal riots in Gujarat.

Days after the serial blasts ripped through Ahmedabad, the police recovered bombs from different parts of Surat, following which 20 FIRs were registered in Ahmedabad and 15 in Surat.

The convicts were presented before the court via video conferencing. They attract a maximum punishment of death sentence and imprisonment for life.

Out of the 49 convicts, 32 are currently lodged in the Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad, four in a jail in Bengaluru, seven in Bhopal, three in Taloja, two in Jaipur, and one in Gaya.