Ahmedabad Serial Blasts: Gujarat High Court Upholds Death Penalty For 38 Convicts, Life Terms For 11
The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday upheld the death sentences of 38 convicts and life imprisonment awarded to 11 others in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case, affirming the verdict of a special court that had convicted members of the terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM).
A division bench of Justices A.Y. Kogje and Samir Dave dismissed all appeals filed by the convicts against the 2022 special court judgment, thereby confirming the sentences.
The case relates to the serial bomb blasts that rocked Ahmedabad on July 26, 2008, when 21 explosions ripped through different parts of the city within a span of 70 minutes. The attacks claimed 56 lives and left more than 200 people injured. Several hospitals treating the blast victims were also targeted.
In February 2022, a special court sentenced 38 convicts to death and 11 others to life imprisonment, describing the case as falling under the “rarest of rare” category. The convicts later challenged the verdict before the Gujarat High Court.
With Tuesday’s ruling, the High Court upheld the sentences awarded to all the convicts, rejecting their appeals and affirming the lower court’s findings against the Indian Mujahideen members in the case.
The judgment marks a significant development in one of India’s deadliest terror cases, nearly 18 years after the coordinated bombings shook Gujarat’s largest city.
