New Delhi: The Gujarat High Court has upheld the special court’s verdict in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case, confirming the death sentence for 38 convicts linked to the Indian Mujahideen and life imprisonment for 11 others. The coordinated bomb blasts had claimed 56 lives and left more than 200 people injured.
A division bench of Justice A.Y. Kogje and Justice Sameer Dave dismissed all appeals filed by the convicts, affirming the 2022 judgment of the special court. The High Court also directed the Gujarat government to pay compensation of ₹10 lakh to the families of those killed and ₹5 lakh to seriously injured victims by March 30, 2027.
Following the verdict, families of the victims expressed satisfaction with the court’s decision but said they were still waiting for “complete justice” through the implementation of the sentences.
The serial blasts took place on July 26, 2008, when 21 explosions ripped through different parts of Ahmedabad within 70 minutes. Bombs also exploded at hospitals where victims had been taken for treatment, intensifying the scale of the attack.
Alpesh Kumar Shah, who lost his brother Chirag Shah in the Maninagar blast, welcomed the judgment.
“Terrorists have no humanity and should not benefit from prolonged legal proceedings. We feel the same sense of relief today as we did when the special court awarded the death sentences in 2022,” he said.
Eyewitnesses also recalled the horrific scenes that followed the explosions. Lakshman Chudasama, a worker of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), said he was transporting injured people to Ahmedabad Civil Hospital in Asarwa when another bomb exploded there.
“I had just reached the hospital with injured victims when the blast occurred. I suffered severe burns to my hair and serious injuries to my hands and legs,” Chudasama said, recalling the incident.
Survivors described scenes of devastation, with victims engulfed in flames and bodies scattered around the hospital premises after the explosion.
