Supreme Court stays Ahmed Bawa’s execution in blasts case

The Supreme Court of India has stayed the execution of Ahmed Bawa, also known as Abbu Abubakar Barelvi, while considering his challenge to the Gujarat High Court judgment upholding his death sentence in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case. The court issued notice to the Gujarat government and called for the trial-court records. The order pauses Bawa’s execution while the challenge is before the court; it does not resolve his appeal. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Augustine George Masih issued the order on Thursday, October 1. Bawa had challenged the High Court ruling that upheld his conviction and death sentence. The reports do not give a date for the Supreme Court’s next consideration of the case or the appeal’s eventual outcome. During the hearing, Bawa’s counsel told the court that the conviction was based entirely on conspiracy. That was an argument presented by his lawyer, not a finding by the Supreme Court. The court’s request for the trial record will allow it to consider the materials from the lower-court proceedings as it reviews the challenge.