Justice after 17 years in Jaipur bomb blast: Court gave historic verdict; 4 convicts sentenced to life imprisonment

The court has given its judgment after 17 years in a significant bomb blast case that occurred on 13 May 2008 in the capital Jaipur. In the live bomb recovered near Ramchandra temple of Chandpole Bazaar, the bomb blast special court has given rigorous life imprisonment to four terrorists.

Shahbaz Hussain, Sarwar Azmi, Mohammad Saif, and Saifurrahman were convicted by the court and stated that the punishment had also been awarded, that is, the crime was also committed. All four were convicted by the court of Special Judge Ramesh Kumar Joshi under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), UAPA Act, and Explosive Substances Act.

On April 4, 2025, the court had declared these four accused guilty. After this, the debate on the sentence took place on 6 April, and today the court gave the verdict and sentenced them to life imprisonment. The convicts have been sentenced under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy), Section 121A (conspiracy related to sedition), Section 307 (attempt to murder), Section 153A (spreading religious hatred) of IPC, Sections 4, 5, and 6 of the Explosives Act and Section 13 and 18 of UAPA.

Special Public Prosecutor Sagar Tiwari on behalf of the state government said that this is a very serious crime. No leniency can be shown in this. Such people should remain in jail for the rest of their lives. At the same time, the lawyer of the accused, Minhajul Haq, argued in the court that the four accused have been in jail for the last 15 years, and the High Court has acquitted them in the other eight bomb blast cases. In such a situation, they should be given minimum punishment.

Court's comment- While giving the verdict, the court said that the biggest court is our mind...our mind knows what is right and what is wrong. Punishment has been given, which means the crime has also been committed.

On 13 May 2008, eight serial bomb blasts took place at various places in Jaipur, in which more than 70 people lost their lives and more than 180 people were injured. Meanwhile, the ninth bomb was found near a guest house in Chandpole Bazaar, which was defused 15 minutes before the blast, thus averting another big tragedy.