Prateek Tanmay
2 min readAhmedabadUpdated: Jul 7, 2026 12:31 PM IST
The Gujarat High Court Tuesday upheld the sentence awarded by a special trial court four years ago in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case, confirming the death penalty for 38 of the 49 convicted accused and life imprisonment for the remaining 11.
A Division Bench, comprising Justices A Y Kogje and Samir Dave, pronounced the verdict in the appeals moved soon after the trial court’s judgment in 2022.
Of those facing death row, at least 13 are from Gujarat, followed by eight from Uttar Pradesh, five each from Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, two each from Kerala and Karnataka, and one from Hyderabad.
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 people and leaving around 200 injured. Of the 24 bombs, one each at Kalol and Naroda did not go off.
‘Revenge for post-Godhra riots’
A special court, presided over by Special Judge A R Patel, held the criminal trial in February 2022 against 77 accused claimed to be associated with ‘Indian Mujahideen’, believed to be an offshoot of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).
The prosecution had claimed that the accused planned the serial blasts as “revenge” for the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat and to overthrow a democratically elected government.
The court convicted 49 of them, awarding death sentences to 38 of them while sending the 11 other convicts to life imprisonment. The court acquitted 28 of the accused, giving them the benefit of the doubt. One of the accused persons in the case had turned approver.
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The trial culminated based on 35 cases registered, 20 at Ahmedabad and 15 in Surat, where similar bombs that did not go off were found after the Ahmedabad bombings.
The 49 convicts were found guilty under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the Explosive Substance Act, the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
