Ahmedabad, July 7:The Gujarat High Court has upheld the convictions in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts case, confirming the death penalty awarded to 38 convicts and life imprisonment for 11 others, while also directing enhanced compensation for the families of those killed and injured in one of India’s deadliest terror attacks.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Alpesh Y. Kogje and Justice Samir J. Dave delivered the judgment on Tuesday, affirming the February 2022 verdict of the special court that convicted 49 persons for their involvement in the coordinated bomb blasts that struck Ahmedabad on July 26, 2008.
The High Court rejected the appeals filed by the convicted persons challenging their sentences and confirmed the punishment awarded by the special court. Under the law, every death sentence imposed by a trial court requires confirmation by the High Court before it can be executed.
The court also directed that the families of the 56 people who lost their lives in the serial blasts be paid compensation of ₹10 lakh each. In addition, it ordered compensation of ₹1 lakh each for more than 200 people who sustained injuries in the attacks.
The case relates to a series of coordinated bomb explosions that occurred across Ahmedabad on the evening of July 26, 2008. According to the prosecution, 21 explosions took place within approximately 70 minutes at buses, public places and two hospitals where victims of earlier blasts had been shifted for treatment.
The attacks claimed 56 lives and injured more than 200 people, leading to one of the country’s largest terrorism investigations. Following the investigation, police registered 35 First Information Reports (FIRs) and filed hundreds of charge sheets in connection with the case.
The trial before the special court involved the examination of more than 1,100 witnesses along with thousands of documentary and material exhibits before the court delivered its verdict in February 2022. The special court convicted 49 accused and acquitted 28 others.
Among those convicted, 38 were sentenced to death, while 11 were awarded imprisonment for the remainder of their natural lives.
Following the sentencing, all 49 convicted persons challenged the special court’s judgment before the Gujarat High Court. The State Government simultaneously sought confirmation of the death sentences, as mandated under existing legal provisions.
After hearing the matter over an extended period, the High Court reserved its judgment before pronouncing its verdict on Tuesday. With the latest ruling, the convictions and sentences awarded by the special court remain in force.
The convicts, however, retain the legal right to challenge the Gujarat High Court’s judgment before the Supreme Court.
