New Delhi: The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday upheld the death sentences awarded to 38 convicts and confirmed life imprisonment for 11 others in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case. The ruling affirms the judgment delivered by a special court in 2022, which found members of the terror outfit Indian Mujahideen guilty for carrying out one of India’s deadliest coordinated terror attacks.
A division bench dismissed all appeals filed by the convicts, concluding that the special court’s findings and the sentences imposed were justified. The decision brings a major legal milestone in the case, nearly 18 years after the serial bombings that claimed dozens of lives and left hundreds injured.
The coordinated attacks took place on July 26, 2008, when 21 bombs exploded across 14 locations in Ahmedabad within about 70 minutes. The blasts killed 56 people and injured more than 200. Several crowded public areas were targeted, including markets, residential neighbourhoods and hospitals, with two medical facilities treating the injured also hit during the attack.
The special court had earlier classified the case as falling under the “rarest of rare” category while awarding capital punishment to 38 convicts and life imprisonment to 11 others. The High Court has now upheld those sentences after rejecting every appeal filed by the accused.
Investigators found that the conspiracy behind the attacks was allegedly planned during a clandestine training camp organised in Kerala in late 2007, where participants reportedly underwent physical and weapons training before the bombings. Minutes before the first explosion, an email claiming responsibility and warning of the attacks was sent to several media organisations. The banned terror outfit Indian Mujahideen later claimed responsibility, describing the bombings as retaliation for the 2002 Gujarat riots.
The case also saw a dramatic twist during the trial when 24 accused allegedly attempted to escape from prison through a 213 foot tunnel. The escape plan was uncovered and foiled before they could flee, adding another significant chapter to one of the country’s most closely watched terror prosecutions.
