Gandhinagar, July 7 (IANS) Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi on Tuesday described the High Court’s decision to uphold the death sentences of 38 convicts in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts case as a verdict showing “zero mercy” for those found guilty of one of the country’s deadliest terror attacks.

In a post on X, Sanghavi wrote: “38 death sentences. 11 life terms. Zero mercy. July 26, 2008 Amdavad Serial bomb blast. Today, the Gujarat High Court delivered one of India’s strongest and most historic verdicts: near-total conviction, maximum punishment upheld for the guilty. Jai Hind.”

Earlier, a Division Bench of the Gujarat High Court upheld the special court’s judgment awarding the death penalty to 38 convicts and life imprisonment to 11 others in the 2008 serial blasts case.

The court also directed that the families of the 56 people killed in the attacks be paid compensation of Rs 10 lakh each and more than 200 injured victims receive Rs one lakh each.

The judgment affirms the February 2022 decision of the special court, which had convicted 49 people after one of the longest terrorism trials in the country.

Under Indian law, every death sentence imposed by a trial court must be confirmed by the High Court before it can be executed.

The case stems from the coordinated bomb blasts that struck Ahmedabad on July 26, 2008. Twenty-one explosions ripped through buses, crowded public places and hospitals over a little more than an hour, killing 56 people and injuring more than 200.

The attacks also targeted hospitals where victims of the earlier explosions had been taken for treatment, intensifying the scale of the tragedy.

Investigators registered dozens of criminal cases and carried out an extensive probe that led to the prosecution of several accused.

After a lengthy trial involving more than 1,000 witnesses and thousands of documents and exhibits, the special court convicted 49 accused while acquitting 28 others in February 2022.

It awarded the death sentence to 38 convicts and life imprisonment for the remainder of their natural lives to 11 others.

The convicted persons subsequently challenged the verdict before the Gujarat High Court, while the state sought confirmation of the death sentences.

With the latest ruling, the High Court has upheld the special court’s findings and sentences. The convicts may now seek relief before the Supreme Court.

–IANS

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