A TADA court in Mumbai, on Wednesday may finally begin handing out sentences to those found guilty in the Mumbai 1993 serial blasts case. The horrifying images of the fateful day of March 12, 1993 which saw 11 blasts in different parts of the city, will haunt Mumbaikars and remain etched in the memory forever. The serial blasts left 257 people dead and over 700 people injured. A mammoth trial followed where 687 witnesses were examined, and charge sheets and evidence came to 23,000 pages. During the 14-year-long trial, the court acquitted 23 people and found 100 others guilty of various offences.
The court has asked all convicted, including perhaps the most talked about convict Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt - convicted of possessing illegal weapons, but acquitted of conspiracy charges, to be present in the court on Wednesday. Though Dutt was absolved of conspiracy and terrorism charges, he was found guilty under the Arms Act for illegal possession of arms in a notified area. Dutt spent 16 months in jail as an undertrial, and has now applied for relief under the Probation of Offenders Act asking to be let off for good behaviour.
THE LONG-DRAWN CASE
* After a 14-year-long agonising wait, a special TADA court began delivering its verdict in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case in September.
* The serial blasts on March 12, 1993 had claimed more than 257 lives and left thousands injured.
* While the gory sights of death and destruction at the Air-India building in the posh Nariman Point area, at Bombay Stock Exchange and at Century Bazaar in Worli have since been forgotten, the trial has dragged on and on.
* The investigations and trial proved too voluminous. Till the end, the prosecution presented approximately 43,000 pages as part of its chargesheet and evidence.
* The court has thus far recorded more than 13,000 pages of oral evidence, more than 7,000 pages of documentary evidence and secured 135 confessions and 686 witness statements.
* Separate trials of Abu Salem, Riyaz Siddiqui and Mustafa Majnoo were ordered. The main accused - Dawood Ibrahim, Chhota Shakeel, Anees Ibrahim, Mushtaq Memon, and Tiger Memon - are among the 35 others, who are yet to be brought to book.
* During the protracted trial, two accused - including Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi - were discharged by the court.
* The CBI had taken over the investigation soon after the blasts and filed its first chargesheet in November 1993 itself. At least 30 accused have been in jail ever since the blasts occurred in 1993. Some of the witnesses examined by the prosecution turned hostile.
* Sanjay Dutt Angle: Film actor Sanjay Dutt was charged with possessing an AK-56 rifle and later destroying it with the help of his friends. However, the actor denied the charge by retracting his statement to the police.
* On August 10, the designated TADA judge P D Kode had begun dictating the verdict and had said that court would pronounce judgement on September 12.
* All the accused in March 12, 1993 blasts, including those out on bail, had been asked to be present in the court when the judge is expected to deliver the verdict.
* Meanwhile, one of the accused, Abu Salem has moved the Supreme Court challenging the order of TADA court separating his trial from the main blasts trial.