The sentence was pronounced by Additional Sessions Judge PR Patel, who had on February 22 convicted 31 people of the said crime.On February 22 the special court had accepted the conspiracy theory behind the torching of coach S-6 of the Sabarmati Express and convicted 31 undertrials for the crime while it acquitted 63 others including main accused Maulvi Umarji.
Fifty nine people, mostly Vishwa Hindu Parishad members returning from Ayodhya, were killed in the carnage. The deaths triggered widespread communal riots in Gujarat.The trial conducted inside the Sabarmati Central Jail here began in June 2009 with the framing of charges against the 94 accused.
The accused were charged with criminal conspiracy and murder.
As many as 253 witnesses were examined during the trial and over 1,500 documentary evidences were presented before the court by the Gujarat police.
The Nanavati Commission, appointed by the Gujarat government to probe the carnage, had in the first part of the report, concluded that the fire in the S-6 coach was not an accident, but it was caused by throwing petrol inside it.
However the one-man U C Banerjee Commission appointed by the Railway Ministry had found that the fire was “accidental”.
On 22nd February, the court had convicted all the 31 while accepting the prosecution’s contention that there was a conspiracy behind the incident and convicted 31 under various sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) like 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy).
They were also convicted under IPC section 147, 148 (rioting with deadly weapons), 323, 324,325,326 (causing hurt), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on religious grounds), various sections of the Indian Railways Act, Prevention of Damages to Public Property Act and Bombay Police Act.
The Court had acquitted 63 others, in the burning of S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express in 2002 near Godhra railway station where 59 persons were killed.
Those who were awarded capital punishment are Bilal Ismail Abdul Majid Sujela alias Bilal Haji, Abdul Razak Mohammad Kurkur, Ramjani Binyamin Behra, Hasan Ahmed Charkha alias Lalu, Jabir Binyamin Behra, Mehboob Khalid Chanda, Salim alias Salman Yusuf Sattar Zarda, Siraj Mohammad Abdul Meda alias Bala, Irfan Abdul Majid Ganchi Kalandar alias Irfan Bhopo, Irfan Mhammad Hanifabdul Gani Pataliya and Mehbub Ahmed Yusuf Hasan alais Latiko.
Public prosecutor J M Panchal said the prosecution has not received the detailed copy of the judgement containing reasons for the punishment meted out and, therefore, he could not comment on the specific role and the differentiating factor due to which the 11 were given death and others life imprisonment.
The prosecutor said that this was perhaps the first case in the country in which 11 people have been awarded capital punishment.
Asked if the prosecution will appeal against the life imprisonment awarded to the 20 convicts, he said a decision to that effect will be taken by the special investigation team that probed the case.
The accused have been given 90 days time to appeal in the higher court. The time spent in jail by the 20 accused who have been awarded life, will be deducted from their total punishment, he said.
However defence counsel I M Munshi said the convicts will definitely appeal against the punishment awarded to them. “It (the punishment) is very difficult to swallow. Till we get the copy of the judgement, we cannot comment much,” Munshi said.
“We will definitely appeal against the verdict in the high court. Till the high court confirms the judgement, it cannot be implemented,” he said.