2018 Jaipur Bomb Blast: Rajasthan HC Questions Life Imprisonment Sentence, Issues Notice To State Govt
Hearing a plea filed by accused Shahbaz Hussain, the court issued notice to state government seeking its response on life sentence pronounced against Hussain.
Published : May 13, 2025 at 8:15 PM IST
Jaipur. The Rajasthan High Court has sought records from the special court in connection with the case of live bombs found after the serial bomb blasts that rocked the city on May 13, 2018.
Hearing a plea filed by accused Shahbaz Hussain, the court issued a notice to the state government seeking its response on sentence pronounced in the case against Hussain.
A bench of Justice Avnish Jhingan and Justice Bhuvan Goyal passed the order during preliminary hearing on the criminal plea of accused Shahbaz Hussain. Notably, Sarwar Azmi, another accused in the case, has also challenged the lower court order in the High Court.
Advocate Fahrukh Ahmed, representing the petitioner, said the special court had acquitted the petitioner in the original bomb blast case. At the same time, the High Court revoked the death sentence of remaining accused and acquitted them. Despite this, in the same case, the special court on April 8 found the petitioner guilty and sentenced three to life imprisonment. Challenging this order, the petitioner stated that the live bomb case is not different from the original case, and that there has been no loss of life in the incident.
As per reports, Hussain was accused of claiming responsibility by sending an email to a TV channel after the blasts. Special court had acquitted him of that same charge. In such a situation, he cannot be punished in the live bomb case. Therefore, the order of the special court should be annulled and he should be acquitted, Ahmed argued.
Following this argument, the bench issued a notice to the state government and sought records from the lower court.
On May 13, 2008, a total of eight bombs exploded at different places across the city. One live bomb was found near the Chandpol Hanuman temple. In the case, the special court acquitted Shahbaz Hussain on December 18, 2019 and sentenced the remaining four accused to death. Later in March 2023, the High Court revoked the sentence of the four accused. Subsequently on April 8, the special court sentenced Shahbaz Hussain, Sarwar Azmi, Mohammad Saif and Saifur Rahman to life imprisonment.
