2008 Gujarat Serial Blast Case: Court To Pronounce Quantum Of Punishment Against 49 Convicts Today

The court last week had pronounced 49 accused guilty of the crime, while 28 others were acquitted.

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New Delhi: A special Gujarat court will announce quantum of punishment to the 49 convicts in the Ahmedabad serial bomb blast case today. 

The hearing on the sentencing ended on Tuesday and the court of special judge A R Patel had fixed February 18 as the date for passing the order, said special public prosecutor Amit Patel.

The court last week had pronounced 49 accused guilty of the crime, while 28 others were acquitted.

"The hearing on the sentencing is over and now the judgment is to be pronounced. The court has said that it will pronounce the order on February 18," said Patel.

The accused can be sentenced to life imprisonment and death under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). They are also booked under other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

On July 26, 2008, Ahmedabad city was rocked by a  series of bomb blasts in which 56 people were killed and over 200 hundred injured. Islamic militant group Harkat-ul-Jihand-al-Islami had claimed responsibility of the attack. As many as 21 bomb blasts were carried out by the outfit across the city in a span of 70 minutes. The Ahmedabad civil hospital was also targeted in the blasts.

The attack was allegedly carried out to seek revenge for the riots that happened in Godhra, Gujarat in 2002 in which several people of the minority community were killed.

The Gujarat police arrested 85 people over a period of time but trial commenced against 78 persons. The judgment in the case was pronounced last week after thirteen years of trial.