On Friday, a special court set up to expedite the trial of the 49 people accused in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial explosions cases condemned 38 of the 49 to death. The other eleven were given life sentences.
According to the defence attorneys, this is the most criminals sentenced to death in a single case in Indian judicial history.
The 38 defendants were sentenced under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (murder), as well as Sections 10 and 16 (1) (a) (b) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Each of the 38 people was also fined Rs 25,000 for each of the three offences.
Twenty explosions swept through the city on July 26, 2008, killing 56 people and injuring 246 others.
For three offences – Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 10 and 16(1)(2) of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act – special judge A R Patel sentenced 38 persons to death (UAPA). On similar allegations, the remaining 11 offenders were sentenced to life in prison.
Aside from the aforementioned requirements, all 49 defendants were sentenced to life in prison under four provisions of the law: UAPA Section 20, Explosive Substances Act Section 3, and IPC Sections 124 A (sedition), 121 A (criminal conspiracy), and 121 A (criminal negligence) (waging war against the state).
All of the sentences, however, must run at the same time.
Mohammad Usman Agarbattiwala of Vadodara, who was the sole one found guilty under the Arms Act’s Section 25(1)(B) (a), was sentenced to a year in prison under the provision.
In addition to punishing the 49 defendants, the court ordered that restitution be paid to the victims from the fines collected from the defendants. The court of special judge A R Patel ordered that the 56 victims who died be compensated with Rs 1 lakh, Rs 50,000 for those who sustained major injuries, and Rs 25,000 for those who had lesser injuries.
Each of the 48 defendants faces a fine of Rs 2.85 lakh, with Agarbattiwala facing a fine of Rs 2.88 lakh.
On July 26, 2008, 22 bombs exploded in Ahmedabad, killing 56 people and injuring 200 others at various locations including the state government-run civil hospital, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation-run LG Hospital, buses, parked bicycles, automobiles, and other locations. One bomb each at Kalol and Naroda did not detonate, out of a total of 24.
For the first time in the country, hospitals were targeted in a terrorist attack. One explosion occurred outside the Civil Hospital’s trauma centre, which saw the highest casualties, 37. Blood donors were among the victims, as they had raced to the hospital anticipating the arrival of victims of prior explosions. A blast occurred at the LG Hospital parking lot as well, although no one was harmed.
Bombs including ammonium nitrate and fuel oil were used in the explosions, which were purportedly carried out by the Indian Mujahideen, which is thought to be a regrouping of the proscribed SIMI (ANFO).
On February 8, the special court announced that 49 of the 78 defendants in the case had been found guilty. Another 28 were acquitted, and in 2019, one of the defendants, Ayaz Saiyed, became an approver in the case, supporting the prosecution’s case, and was later pardoned and acquitted of all charges.
The court held the trial after combining 35 separate cases, 20 of which were filed in Ahmedabad and 15 in Surat.
