Raj HC refuses bail to convicts in 2008 Jaipur serial blasts case

Jaipur: The Rajasthan High Court Friday refused interim relief to two convicts, Mohammad Sarwar Azmi and Shahbaz Ahmed, who sought suspension of their convictions and bail in a case related to the 2008 Jaipur serial blasts. Last year, they were sentenced to life imprisonment.

A division bench of Justices Inderjeet Singh and Bhuvan Goyal dismissed the applications filed by the convicts. The case centers on the recovery of a live bomb connected to the May 13, 2008, blasts, which resulted in eight explosions across Jaipur, killing 71 people and injuring 185 others. A ninth bomb, discovered near a guest house in Chandpole Bazaar, was successfully defused.

During the court proceedings, the defense counsel for Azmi and Ahmed argued that they had been previously sentenced to death in eight other related blast cases, only for the high court to later overturn those convictions and acquit them. They contended that the prosecution relied on the same evidence in the current live bomb case, asserting, “Once they were acquitted in similar connected cases, the trial court ought not convict them again on the basis of the same material.”

The defense also highlighted that both men have spent a significant amount of time in custody, and that the appeal process could be drawn out, warranting bail.

In opposition, Additional Advocate General Rajesh Choudhary asserted that the accused were involved in “spreading terror and panic.” He noted, “The convicts claimed responsibility for the blasts through emails sent to two news channels. Also, we have additional evidence, including the recovery of the emails, which was presented to the trial court and constituted the basis for the life sentences. They can’t be given relief.”
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