Under the terms of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, a special court established for the swift trial of the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb bombings convicted 38 of the 49 prisoners to death. The 11 others were condemned to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole.
Special Judge AR Patel, who delivered the verdict, granted Rs 1 lakh in compensation to individuals who were killed in the blasts. He also granted sufferers with serious injuries Rs 50,000 in compensation and those with mild ailments Rs 25,000. Usman Agarbattiwala, the only person convicted under the Arms Act and one of those sentenced to death, was also given a year in prison for his conviction under the Act.
Each of the 49 prisoners will serve their sentences concurrently under the IPC, UAPA, Explosive Substances Act, and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. A fine of Rs 2.85 lakh was also imposed on each of the 48 convicts by the court. Agarbattiwala was also fined Rs 2.88 lakh for his supplementary imprisonment under the Arms Act.
On February 8, the Special Judge found 49 of the 78 defendants guilty of numerous Indian Penal Code violations, including murder, sedition, and waging war against the state, as well as offenses under the UAPA, or Explosive Substances Act.
Earlier, the judge had concluded a hearing on the issue of punishment quantum, with the defense presenting arguments on mitigating circumstances in order to seek minimum punishment and the prosecution presenting arguments on aggravating circumstances in order to make a case for maximum punishment, i.e. death.
Ahmedabad Serial Bombings killed 56 people
On July 26, 2008, 22 bombs exploded in Ahmedabad, killing 56 people and injuring 200 others at various locations including the state government-run civil hospital, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation-run LG Hospital, buses, parked bicycles, automobiles, and other locations. One bomb apiece at Kalol and Naroda failed to detonate.
The Indian Mujahideen (IM), a group that had never been heard of before, claimed responsibility for the attacks in emails sent to some media outlets. One of the 78 defendants on trial, Ayaz Saiyed, who later became an approver in the case, was accused of planting bombs in bicycles and an AMTS bus in Ahmedabad’s Naroda neighborhood, with the bus exploding near Sarkhej.