AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat High Court has upheld the convictions and sentences of 49 people in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts case, including the death penalty for 38 convicts and life imprisonment for 11 others.
The division bench also ordered compensation of one million Indian rupees for the families of each of the 56 people killed in the blasts and 100,000 rupees for every injured victim. The compensation is to be paid by the convicted individuals.
The judgment came after the court heard appeals challenging the 2022 verdict of a special trial court, which had convicted 49 of the 78 accused while acquitting 28 for lack of evidence.
The serial bomb blasts on July 26, 2008 killed 56 people and injured more than 200 across Ahmedabad, triggering one of India’s biggest terrorism investigations.
Prosecutors alleged the convicted men were linked to the banned Indian Mujahideen group and had planned the attacks in retaliation for the 2002 Gujarat riots.
A lawyers’ group representing many of the convicts said it would challenge the High Court verdict in India’s Supreme Court, arguing that the convictions should be reviewed.
