The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday confirmed the death penalty awarded to 38 convicts and life imprisonment handed to 11 others in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case, in which 56 people lost their lives and around 200 were injured.
A division bench comprising Justices A Y Kogje and Samir Dave dismissed all appeals filed against the trial court's verdict, upholding the sentences awarded to members of the banned terror outfit Indian Mujahideen in connection with the case, PTI reported.
The blasts occured on July 26, 2008, when a coordinated series of 21 bomb explosions struck Ahmedabad within a span of just over an hour, tearing through crowded markets, hospitals and civic areas across the city. The attacks, among the deadliest in Gujarat's history, killed 56 people and left nearly 200 others injured, with several hospitals also targeted in the aftermath of the initial blasts, compounding the chaos and casualties.
A special court had convicted the accused in 2022, sentencing 38 Indian Mujahideen operatives to death and 11 others to life imprisonment after a prolonged trial.
Tuesday's High Court verdict brings a degree of finality to the case nearly 18 years after the attack, with the bench rejecting the convicts' pleas challenging both their conviction and the quantum of punishment awarded to them.
Reacting to the verdict, Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi took to X to hail the judgment, calling it one of India's strongest and most historic verdicts. He noted that the ruling amounted to a "near-total conviction," with the maximum punishment upheld for the guilty.
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38 DEATH SENTENCES. 11 LIFE TERMS. ZERO MERCY.
— Harsh Sanghavi (@sanghaviharsh) July 7, 2026
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. ????????#Amdavad…
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