Jaipur serial bomb blast case: Rajasthan High Court acquits 4 suspects convicted by lower court

JAIPUR: In a major development on Wednesday, the Rajasthan High Court acquitted all four accused in the Jaipur serial bomb blast case.

The blasts occurred on May 13, 2008, and claimed the lives of 71 people while injuring 185 others. The district court had earlier sentenced Mohd Saif, Saifur Rehman, Sarwar Azmi, and Mohd Salman to death in 2019.

During the hearing, the bench of Justices Pankaj Bhandari and Sameer Jain observed that the investigating officer was not aware of the law. The court further stated that while public sentiment is attached to the incident, the verdict was based on evidence and the law.

The accused had appealed in the High Court against the district court’s verdict, which led to the 48-day hearing.

After the verdict, the counsel for the accused, Syed Sadat Ali, said that the High Court had declared the entire theory of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) wrong, leading to the acquittal of the accused. Meanwhile, the state government is preparing to approach the Supreme Court against the decision. The Additional Advocate General (AAG) Rajesh Maharshi confirmed that they are preparing to file a petition in the Supreme Court.

One of the four accused, Mohd Salman, was a minor at the time of the incident. The court held that he was 16 years and 10 months old on May 13, 2008. The accused maintained their innocence throughout the trial and argued that they had been falsely implicated.

The court also blamed the ATS officers for the laxity in the investigation and instructed the Director General of Police to take action against such officers. The Chief Secretary has also been instructed to monitor the matter closely.