The 2008 bomb blasts victims in India are finally receiving the justice they deserved. 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 them to death. The remaining eleven gets life sentences.
These are 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. As well as Sections 10 and 16 (1) (a) (b) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Each of the 38 people will pay fines of Rs 25,000 for each of the three offences.
The case would go for appeal in higher court
The blasts shook Gujarat, a western state of India. The blasts were blamed on the “Indian Mujahideen” on July 26, 2008. After the prosecution sought the death penalty, Judge A.R. Patel imposed the penalty calling the occurrence a “rarest of rare case” in which innocent lives were lost. An attorney for the defence acknowledged that the conclusion would go for an appeal to a higher court.
“We had sought lenient sentences for the convicts as they have already spent more than 13 years in prison,” Khalid Shaikh told Reuters. “But the court awarded death to the majority of them. We will definitely go for appeal.”
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