Gujarat High Court Upholds Convictions in 2008 Ahmedabad Serial Blasts: Families Call Verdict 'Fair' and 'Just'

The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday upheld the death sentences and life imprisonment awarded to 49 convicts in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts, a verdict that victims' families have described as appropriate and just. The blasts, which occurred on July 26, 2008, killed 56 people and injured over 200 in a coordinated attack across multiple locations in the city, including the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital's trauma centre, Sarangpur, Khadia, Raipur, and Isanpur.

Yash Vyas, who lost his father Dushyant and elder brother Rohan in the blast at the Civil Hospital, said the judgment was appropriate. He was eight years old at the time and survived with injuries. His father was a hospital employee who had gone to help a patient when the blast occurred. Now 28, Vyas stated, 'My father, my brother and many others were killed in the blasts.'

Another victim's son, Amrish Patel, whose father Jashvant Patel died at the same hospital, expressed relief that the culprits had been punished. Jashvant, a garage owner, had gone to assist blast victims but was seriously injured and died en route to another hospital. The family received compensation of approximately Rs 10 lakh from the central and state governments, along with an additional Rs 1 lakh from the Congress party at the time.

Vijay Modi, whose mother was a vendor in the Sarangpur marketplace and suffered a leg injury in the blast, said, 'Even if it was delayed, the important thing is justice has been delivered.' His mother later died in 2016. Darshan Modi, who was 18 when the blasts occurred, recalled the panic in his Khadia neighbourhood. His mother was injured by shrapnel but survived. He described the High Court verdict as 'very fair.'

The original trial court had awarded death sentences to 38 of the 49 convicts in 2022, sentencing the rest to life imprisonment. The Gujarat government provided compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of those killed, Rs 2.5 lakh each to those with severe injuries, and Rs 1 lakh each to those with minor injuries.