Ahmedabad: A special court in Gujarat, in its judgment on the July 26, 2008 serial bomb blasts in Ahmedabad, has held that 38 convicts in the case deserve the death penalty, as allowing such people to live in the society is not the case for innocent people. It is like leaving the man-eating leopard open. A copy of the court’s decision became available on the website on Saturday. The court said that in its opinion it would be appropriate to award capital punishment to these convicts as the case falls in the category of “extremely rare”.
It is noteworthy that a special court on Friday sentenced 38 members of terrorist organization Indian Mujahideen (IM) to death in connection with the serial bomb blasts in Ahmedabad. In the same case, the court sentenced 11 others to life imprisonment till death. 56 people were killed and more than 200 others were injured in these blasts. This is the first time that a court has awarded death sentence to so many convicts simultaneously. Special Judge AR Patel in his order said, “The convicts created unrest in a peaceful society and carried out anti-national activities while staying here. They have no respect for the constitutionally elected central and Gujarat government and some of them rely only on Allah, not in the government and the judiciary.”
He said that there is no need for the government to jail especially those guilty who have said that they do not believe in anyone but their God. He said that no jail in the country can keep him in jail forever. The judge in his order said, “If such people are allowed to live in the society, it will be tantamount to releasing a man-eating leopard among the people.” Such culprits are like man-eating leopards, which eats innocent people of the society including children, youth, elderly, women, men and newborn and people of different castes and communities.
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The prosecution had sought death sentence for all the 49 convicts in the case, including the conspirators of the blasts and those who planted the bombs. Regarding the 38 convicts, the court said, “Death penalty is the only option for those who commit such terrorist activities, so that peace can be maintained and security of the country and its people can be ensured.” The court sentenced 11 other convicts to death sentence, saying that their crime was less serious than that of the main conspirators. “If they are given a lesser sentence than being kept in prison till death, then these convicts will again commit similar crimes and will help other criminals as well,” it said. It is certain.”
Some of the convicts had argued that they were being targeted for being Muslims. In response, the court said that it cannot accept this, as crores of Muslims in India are living as law-abiding citizens. The court said, “Why did the investigating officers arrest only these people? If others were involved, other people would also be arrested. Investigating officers are responsible people.” Public Prosecutor Amit Patel had told reporters that the court had sentenced 38 convicts to death, while 11 others were sentenced to life imprisonment till death.
The court sentenced 38 to death under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and sections 302 (murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, while 11 others were convicted of criminal conspiracy and various charges of UAPA. Under the sections, sentenced to life imprisonment till death. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 2.85 lakh on each of the 48 convicts and Rs 2.88 lakh on another. The court also ordered a compensation of Rs 1 lakh each to the next of kin of those killed in the blasts, Rs 50,000 each to those seriously injured and Rs 25,000 each to those with minor injuries. (agency)