Gujarat: Notice to 38 as government seeks to confirm death penalty

The Gujarat high court on Wednesday issued notice to 38 convicts in the 2008 serial blasts case who were been condemned to death by a special court last month for the terrorist act in which 56 persons were killed in the city in 2008.

The bench of Justice Sonia Gokani and Justice Mauna Bhatt issued notice in response to the state government's application for confirmation of death sentence awarded to them. The confirmation of death penalty is required from the high court under provisions of Section 366 of the CrPC and Section 317 of the criminal manual.

The bench posted further hearing in this case on June 9 after considering that the convicts have three months to appeal against the conviction from the day a copy of the court's judgment is served on them.

The judges said the execution would remain suspended until the high court decides on confirming the death sentence as well as the appeals by the convicts challenging their punishment.

The court has ordered for service of its notice on the convicts, who have been lodged in different prisons.

The court has also ordered the jail superintendent concerned to explain to these convicts the availability of legal aid and upon receiving requirement from the convicts, the high court's legal service authority has been ordered to extend legal service to them as soon as possible.

Since the special court's order runs into 7,015 pages and the case records form nearly 40,000 pages, the court ordered the state government to prepare case records by the next date of hearing.

The judges insisted on a soft copy of the case records, to which public prosecutor Mitesh Amin replied that by then the requisite soft copy should be ready.

Besides the 38 convicts sentenced to death, the trial court punished 11 others with life imprisonment till death. The trial court acquitted 28 accused and granted pardon to one, who had turned approver.