Special Judge AR Patel had earlier found 49 of the 78 accused guilty of various offences including murder, sedition, and waging war against the State under the Indian Penal Code and provisions of UAPA.
This is the highest number of convicts to be sentenced to death in a single case in India’s legal history, The Indian Express reported citing the defence lawyers in the case.
A special court in Gujarat has sentenced to death 38 of the 49 convicts in the case relating to 2008 serial blasts in Ahmedabad, Times of India reported.
The remaining 11 convicts have been sentenced to life imprisonment.
The Court had earlier convicted the accused under various laws including murder, sedition, and waging war against the State under the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Arms Act and Explosive Substances Act.
Special Judge AR Patel had, on February 8, found 49 of the 78 accused guilty of various offences.
The Court pronounced the sentence today.
The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 2.85 lakh on each of the 48 convicts. Usman Agarbattiwala, the only one convicted under the Arms Act and among those sentenced to death, has been additionally awarded a year of imprisonment for conviction under the Arms Act.
Judge Patel also awarded compensation of ₹1 lakh to victims of the serial blasts, The Indian Express reported.
The defence had cited mitigating circumstances in seeking a lesser quantum of sentence, while the prosecution had argued on the aggravating circumstances to make a case for death sentence to be handed down to the accused.
22 bombs went off in the city Ahmedabad on July 26, 2008 leaving 56 dead and hundreds injured. The sites of the serial blasts included the Civil and LG hospitals. Indian Mujahideen had claimed responsibility for the blasts.
