A division bench of the Gujarat High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the 38 convicts who were sentenced to death by an Ahmedabad special court in the 2008 serial bomb blasts case. The court was hearing the application moved by Gujarat government Tuesday before the HC seeking confirmation of the sentence pronounced February 18.
A death sentence pronounced by a trial court is required to be confirmed by the HC under the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The death sentence can be executed upon confirmation from the high court.
The division bench of Justices Sonia Gokani and Mauna Bhatt reasoned that CrPC section 366 read with provisions under the criminal manual required intimating the accused about the state’s move.
The High Court pointed out that if the convicts filed appeals against the sessions court’s verdict within the stipulated 90 days from the date of the judgment (February 18), hearing of the appeal would take precedence over the Gujarat government’s confirmation application.
Keeping the same in mind, the bench kept the notice returnable for June 9. With an application under CrPC 366 seeking confirmation of death sentence from the high court permitting the high court to direct the session court to take up additional evidence if required, the bench requested the prosecution to submit the record of proceedings at the lower court, which according to the prosecution runs in around 30,000-40,000 pages.
Of the 78 accused in all, the Ahmedabad special court sentenced 38 of the 49 convicted, to death acquitting 29, including Ayaz Saiyed who turned approver during the trial and was pardoned.
Apart from approver Ayaz Saiyed’s testimony, the trial saw 26 star witnesses whose identity were not revealed during recording of evidence.
Imran Ibrahim in his statement before the magistrate under CrPC 164, had broadly admitted to being present in the Waga-mon training camp in Kerala and also of organising the Halol training camp and attending it with other co-accused. He also admitted that at the Halol camp, “jihadi speeches” were given, avenging Muslims’ was talked about and training was given on making bombs. Ibrahim’s statement was deemed enough for convicting some, such as Mohammad Ali alias Jamal alias Jiya alias Yassar alias Abubakr Ansari, from Jabalpur, MP, who is now sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment.
Approver Ayaz Saiyed in his statement, had broadly admitted that since 2000, a SIMI office was running in Shahpur, Ahmedabad, where meetings would be “organised secretly.”
