Supreme Court stays execution of 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts convict Mohammad Tanvir

The Supreme Court has stayed the execution of the death sentence awarded to Mohammad Tanvir, a convict in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts case, while it considers his appeal against a Gujarat High Court verdict. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Aparesh Kumar Singh agreed to hear the plea and issued the order on October 9.

On July 7, the High Court upheld the death sentences of 38 operatives of the Indian Mujahideen in the case. It cited the large number of casualties, the scale of the conspiracy and the intention to spread widespread terror as reasons for confirming the punishment. Tanvir is one of the convicts whose sentence was upheld.

The case relates to a series of 21 bomb blasts that ripped through different areas of Ahmedabad on July 26, 2008, within 70 minutes. The explosions killed 56 people and left more than 200 injured.

In its October 9 order, the Supreme Court said there shall be a stay of execution of the death sentence awarded to Tanvir. It directed that the original records of the case be summoned from the trial court and the High Court. The Gujarat government has been asked to place before the court the reports of all probation officers relating to the appellant within eight weeks.

The court also directed the superintendent of the concerned jail to submit a report within eight weeks on the nature of work Tanvir has performed in prison and on his conduct and behaviour. It asked the prison superintendent to get a psychological evaluation of the appellant done at a government medical hospital and to submit the report within the same period. The matter has been posted for hearing after 12 weeks.

Earlier, on October 1, the Supreme Court had stayed the execution of the death penalty of Ahmed Bawa alias Abbu Abubakar Barelvi, another convict in the case.

The High Court had rejected all appeals filed by the convicts and confirmed the February 2022 judgment of a special court. That judgment sentenced 38 convicts to death and 11 to life imprisonment. The High Court said the criminal antecedents and roles of the 38 convicts established that they had carried out a terrorist act warranting the death penalty. It noted that the special court had considered both mitigating and aggravating circumstances before imposing the sentence.

The High Court cited the number of deaths, what it called the “humongous nature of the conspiracy”, the intention to create an atmosphere of widespread terror in society, the conduct of the convicts during trial, the scale of the conspiracy and the loss of innocent lives in the act as grounds for capital punishment. While upholding the life sentences of the remaining 11 convicts, it said the prosecution had established their participation in terror-training camps and their involvement in procuring scooters, plastic containers and clocks used in the conspiracy, besides arranging shelter for other accused.

According to the records of the case, 78 people were put on trial after 35 police cases were merged — 20 relating to the Ahmedabad blasts and 15 linked to unexploded bombs recovered in Surat. Forty-nine people were convicted by the special court. The February 2022 order was the first instance in which 38 convicts were sentenced to death in a single case by a court.

The Supreme Court’s stay means the death sentence will not be executed while Tanvir’s appeal is pending. It is not a final ruling on the conviction or the sentence, which the court will examine in further hearings.