New Delhi: The Supreme Court has stayed the execution of Ahmed Bawa alias Abbu Abubakar Barelvi, one of 38 convicts sentenced to death in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial-blasts case. A three-judge bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Augustine George Masih and Justice Mehta also issued notice to the Gujarat government and called for the trial court records while hearing his challenge to the Gujarat high court judgment.
The order means Barelvi cannot be executed while the supreme court considers his plea. It does not acquit him, overturn his conviction or set aside the death sentence imposed by the special court and upheld by the Gujarat high court.
Appearing for Barelvi, his counsel argued that he had been convicted “totally on the basis of conspiracy”. Justice Nath responded that the “execution of the sentence will be stayed”, while the solicitor general, Tushar Mehta, appearing in the matter, described it as a “serious case”.
Barelvi has challenged the Gujarat high court’s July 7 judgment confirming the death sentences of 38 convicts and life imprisonment for 11 others. The high court had rejected all appeals filed by the convicts and confirmed the February 2022 special court judgment, while the Gujarat government had sought confirmation of the death sentences.
The high court cited the number of casualties, the scale of what it called a “humongous” conspiracy and the intention to create widespread terror while affirming the capital sentences.
While upholding the life sentences of the remaining 11 convicts, the high court said the prosecution had established their participation in terror training camps and their role in procuring scooters, plastic containers and clocks used in the conspiracy, besides arranging shelter for other accused.
The high court also directed the Gujarat government to pay ₹10 lakh to the families of those killed and ₹5 lakh to the grievously injured before March 30, 2027.
The case arose from a series of coordinated explosions across Ahmedabad on July 26, 2008, over roughly 70 minutes, killing 56 people and injuring more than 200. Blasts also occurred at hospitals where victims of earlier explosions had been taken for treatment.
The prosecution combined 35 cases, 20 relating to the Ahmedabad blasts and 15 concerning unexploded bombs recovered in Surat. 78 people were initially put on trial, but one later turned approver and was pardoned, leaving 77 to face judgment.
In February 2022, a special court convicted 49 people and acquitted 28. Thirty-eight of those convicted were sentenced to death and the remaining 11 to life imprisonment in the case linked to the Indian Mujahideen.
The Gujarat high court subsequently rejected the convicts’ appeals and confirmed the sentences on July 7, This year.
The Supreme Court will now examine Barelvi’s challenge after the Gujarat government files its response and the trial court records are placed before the bench. His execution remains stayed during the proceedings, but the court has made no finding at this stage on whether his conviction or death sentence should ultimately be altered.