Supreme Court Stays Death Sentence of 2008 Ahmedabad Serial Blast Case
Vehicles burn after serial bomb blasts in Ahmedabad. File | Photo credit: PTI
The Supreme Court stayed the death sentence of an Indian Mujahideen operative for his role in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blast that killed 56 people.
Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Aparesh Kumar Singh agreed to hear a plea filed by convict Mohammad Tanvir challenging the Gujarat High Court’s July 7 verdict.
On July 7, the Supreme Court upheld the death sentences of 38 operatives of the Indian Mujahideen terrorist organization in the serial bomb blast case.
The High Court cited the large number of victims, the “humongous” nature of the plot and the intent to spread widespread terror as key reasons for upholding the sentence.
On 26 July 2008, a series of 21 bomb blasts ripped through different areas of Ahmedabad in a span of 70 minutes, killing 56 people and leaving more than 200 injured.
“The execution of the death sentence awarded to the appellant (Tanvir) will be stayed,” the apex court said in its October 9 order.
She said the original records of the case would be subpoenaed from the trial court and the high court.
The Supreme Court asked the Gujarat government to submit the reports of all probation officers related to the applicant within eight weeks.
He directed the Superintendent of the jail concerned to submit a report within eight weeks on the nature of the work done by the petitioner in the jail and his behavior and conduct.
“The Warden of the concerned prison will also get a psychological assessment of the complainant from the state medical hospital,” the court said, adding that the assessment report would be submitted to the court within eight weeks.
After 12 weeks, she sent the matter for consideration.
On October 1, the Supreme Court stayed the execution of Ahmed Bawa alias Abba Abubakar Barelvi, one of the convicts in the case.
The High Court dismissed all the appeals filed by the convicts and upheld the February 2022 verdict of a special court that sentenced 38 convicts to death and 11 to life imprisonment.
The High Court said the criminal antecedents and roles of the 38 convicts proved that they had committed a terrorist act warranting the death penalty.
He noted that the special court considered mitigating and aggravating circumstances before imposing the sentence.
The Supreme Court said the death toll, the “enormous nature of the conspiracy”, the intention to “create an atmosphere of widespread terror in the society”, the conduct of the convicts during the trial, the scale of the conspiracy and the loss of innocent lives in the “inhuman and heinous act” justified the death penalty.
The High Court upheld the life sentences of the remaining 11 convicts, saying the prosecution had proved their participation in terror training camps and involvement in procuring scooters, plastic containers and watches used in the plot, besides providing shelter to the other accused.
78 people were brought to trial after 35 police cases were merged – 20 related to the Ahmedabad blasts and 15 related to unexploded bombs found in Surat. A special court convicted 49 people.
The special court order of February 2022 marked the first such instance when the court sentenced 38 convicts to death in a single case.
Published – 19 Oct 2026 18:23 IST