The SC asked all the 1993 blasts convicts to surrender within four weeks.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India upheld the death sentence of Yakub Abdul Razak Memon in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case. The Court also sentenced 5 years imprisonment to actor Sanjay Dutt under the Arms Act.
The Supreme Court ordered all the convicts, who are on bail to surrender within the four weeks. The Supreme Court also reduced the death sentence of 10 other convicts to life imprisonment.
The court maintained the life sentence of 16 out of 18 convicts sentenced by the TADA court. The life sentence of Ashrafur Rehman Azimulla was commuted to 10 years while that of Imtiyaz Yunusmiya Ghavate to jail term already undergone.
The Supreme Court dismissed all appeals of the convicts except that of Mubina alias Baya Moosa Bhiwandiwala and that of Mulchand Sampatraj Shah.
The Court maintained that Pakistan supported the Mumbai Serial Blasts of 1993. The Court said, the accused were trained to to handle sophisticated weapons in Pakistan by ISI. The blasts were managed and conspired by Dawood Ibrahim and others in Pakistan.
The Supreme Court further added that Yakub Memon and all absconding accused were "archers" and rests of the accused were "arrows" in the hands of ISI. The court also said that the police, customs and coastal guards are also to be blamed for 1993 blasts.