NEW DELHI: A special court on Friday sentenced 38 of the 49 convicted to death in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case while eleven others were sentenced to life in jail.
Notably, one of the convicted Mohammad Usman Agarbattiwala from Vadodara, who was the only one found guilty under the Arms Act was awarded a year of imprisonment under the said provision.
The court of special judge A R Patel directed payment of Rs 1 lakh for the 56 victims who died, Rs 50,000 for those who suffered serious injuries and Rs 25,000 for those who suffered minor ones.
Each of the 48 convicts has to pay a Rs 2.85 lakh fine, while Agarbattiwala has to pay Rs 2.88 lakh.
According to the defence lawyers, this is the highest number of convicts to be sentenced to death in a single case in India's legal history.
The sentence for the 38 convicted was awarded under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, and Sections 10 and 16 (1) (a) (b) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). A fine of Rs 25,000 was also imposed on each of the 38 for each of the three offences.
The 11 others were sent to life in jail under IPC Section 302 and UAPA Sections 10 and 16 (1) (a) (b). A penalty of Rs 25,000 each was also imposed on them.
Apart from the aforementioned provisions, all 49 convicted were also sentenced to life imprisonment under four provisions of the law — UAPA Section 20, Explosive Substances Act section 3 and IPC sections 124 A (sedition), 121 A (waging war against the state).
It is to be mentioned here that as many as 22 bombs went off in Ahmedabad on July 26, 2008, at various spots, including the state government-run civil hospital, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation-run LG Hospital, on buses, parked bicycles, in cars and other places killing 56 persons and leaving 200 injured.