The special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act court on Thursday sentenced 1993 Mumbai Serial Blasts convicts Firoz Khan and Taher Merchant to death for their active roles in the blasts conspiracy. It also sentenced extradited gangster Abu Salem and another convict Karimullah Shaikh to life imprisonment, while a fifth convict Riyaz Siddique was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment.
The Court also fined the accused Rs 27.09 lakh in total. While Khan was ordered to pay a fine of Rs 4.75 lakh, Shaikh, Merchant, Salem and Siddique were fined Rs 8.88 lakh, Rs 4.85 lakh, Rs 8.51 lakh and Rs 10,000 respectively.
The court also ordered that in case of Salem, the set-off period for time already spent in custody, should be considered from the time he was arrested by the CBI for the 1993 blasts case, and not from the date of his arrest in Portugal.
The court has also ordered that the properties of the 33 absconding accused should be auctioned.
Of the seven accused who were tried by the special TADA court presided over by Judge Govind Sanap, Qayyum Sheikh was acquitted on June 16, as the prosecution could not produce enough evidence to prove he had aided in the execution of the blasts. The other five accused, including Mustafa Dossa, were convicted by the court. Dossa passed away a few days after his conviction.
The prosecution had then sought death penalty for Khan, Merchant and Sheikh. It, however, sought only life imprisonment for Salem, as a clause in the India-Portugal extradition agreement had stipulated that Salem should not be given capital punishment for any crimes committed earlier.
The CBI also sought only life imprisonment for Siddique as he was held guilty only under the TADA charges and not for conspiracy.
Asked how the extradition agreement with Portugal affected Salem's sentence, CBI special prosecutor Deepak Salvi told DNA, "The agency (CBI) and the court are bound by law, and not by assurances. The assurances were exchanged between the government while extraditing Salem to India, and it is the government's responsibility to act on them and not the court's. Salem did deserve death penalty, but clause 34-C of the extradition treaty says capital punishment cannot be awarded for the offences committed. Thus the agency was bound by law while seeking punishment, and so is the court."
The five convicts appeared tense as they awaited their fate in court. At around 12.30pm, the court commenced delivering its order. There was total silence in the courtroom, which was packed with lawyers and journalists.
Abdul Quyyam Shaikh, who was acquitted by the court on June 16, was also in court and was seen sympathizing with Karimullah Khan's sons after the court had delivered its order.
"Convict Taher Merchant and Firoz Khan should be hanged to neck till death, but the order needs to be confirmed by the Supreme Court," held the court. Merchant was seen wiping his tears while Khan maintained his composure. However, Salem and Karimullah Shaikh, who were sentenced to life imprisonment, appeared visibly agitated.
Judge Govind Sanap also ordered the Superintendent of Police, CBI, to provide a proper list of those injured and deceased in the blasts to the district legal service authorities, Greater Mumbai, and provide them with appropriate compensation.
"Mere compensation out of the fine amount would be meagre and inadequate, and so it is recommended to the district legal service authorities to provide proper compensation to the families of the victims," held Judge Sanap.
257 people were killed while 713 people were injured in 12 blasts on March 12,1993. Over 3000 kilos of RDX was brought to the country, of which mere 10 percent was used.
MUMBAI 1993 SERIAL BLASTS
Abu Salem Abdul Qayoom Ansari alias Abu Salem
Convicted of: Murder and criminal conspiracy, TADA
Sentence: Life imprisonment
Taher Mohamed Dada alias Taher Mohammed Merchant alias Taher Taklya
Convicted of: Murder and criminal conspiracy, tada
Sentence: Death
Feroz Abdul Rashid Khan alias Feroz Taklya
Convicted of: Murder andcriminal conspiracy, tada
Sentence: Death
Riyaz Ahmed Siddique
Convicted of: TADA charges
Sentence: 10 years imprisonment
Karimullah Osan Khan alias Karimullah Hussain Habib Shaikh
Convicted of: Murder, criminal conspiracy, tada
Sentence: Life imprisonment
CASE TIMELINE
- March 18, 1993 First arrest: Asgar Mukadam
- April 19, 1993 Sanjay Dutt arrested
- September 2003 Trial ends. Court reserves judgement
- July 31, 2007 Justice PD Kode wraps up the 14-year-long case
- July 30, 2015 Yakub Memon is hanged
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