Jaipur: Supreme Court Monday refused to suspend the life sentence of two convicts in the 2008 Jaipur serial blasts case linked to the ninth bomb, which was found unexploded and later defused.A bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Prasanna V Varale said the case was too serious to be treated like “an ordinary bail matter”, as it involved “a threat to national security and public safety”.On May 13, 2008, eight of nine bombs planted across Jaipur exploded, killing 70 people and injuring around 186. The ninth bomb, found near a shop in Chandpole Market, was defused. Mohammad Sarvar Azmi alias Dhilla Pappu and Shahbaz Hussain were convicted by a trial court in 2025 for planting the ninth bomb and sentenced to life imprisonment. Both challenged the conviction in the Rajasthan High Court and sought suspension of sentence pending appeal. After the High Court refused interim relief, both moved Supreme Court asking for suspension of sentence.Counsels for Azmi and Shahbaz Hussain argued that he had already been acquitted by the high court in eight other cases arising from the same day’s blasts, and that all nine bombs were part of a single conspiracy. Since he was found “not guilty” in those cases, he said he should not remain in jail in this one. He also pointed to the 12-year gap before his arrest and charges in the ninth-bomb case, questioned the reliability of the key witness, and said he had spent over 15 years in jail.Additional Advocate General Shiv Mangal Sharma, appearing for Rajasthan govt, opposed any relief. He argued the ninth-bomb case was separate, involving a different location, a live bomb and distinct evidence, including identification by a shopkeeper who allegedly sold Azmi the bicycle used to carry the bomb. “Our evidence was never rejected by high court in earlier cases and also the state’s appeals against eight earlier acquittals are still pending in Supreme Court, so those acquittals cannot yet help Azmi.”The bench upheld the high court’s refusal to suspend the sentence, calling it a “grave case” involving terrorism and public safety.
