2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case: 38 convicts sentenced to death, 11 to life imprisonment

A special court pronounced death sentence to 38 out of 49 convicts today in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blast case. The court also sentenced 11 convicts to life imprisonment.

New Delhi: A special court, formed for the speedy trial of the 2008 serial bomb blasts in Ahmedabad, on Friday (February 18, 2022) sentenced 38 of the 49 convicts to death under provisions of UAPA and IPC 302. The court also sentenced 11 others to life imprisonment until death.

Judge A R Patel also awarded compensation of Rs one lakh each to those killed in the blasts, and Rs 50,000 for each victim with serious injuries and Rs 25,000 each for those with minor ones. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 2.85 lakh each on the 48 convicts.

Earlier on February 8, the court convicted 49 people in the serial blasts case which had claimed 56 lives and left over 200 people injured. 

Within a span of 70 minutes as many as 22 bombs went off at Ahmedabad on July 26, 2008, at several locations. The case is considered to be one of the longest criminal trials in recent years. 

After a trial by the special court that lasted almost 13 years, the court on February 8 held 49 accused persons guilty and acquitted 28 others. The Islamic terror group, Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, had claimed responsibility for the attacks.