7/11 Mumbai train blasts: 5 get death, life term for 7

Delivering the verdict, Special Judge <g data-gr-id="65">Yatin</g> D Shinde pronounced capital punishment for Kamal Ahamed Ansari (37), Mohd Faisal Shaikh (36), Ehtesham Siddiqui (30), Naveed Hussain Khan (30) and Asif Khan (38), all of them bomb planters.

The remaining seven, who were spared the noose, are Tanvir Ahmed Ansari (37), Mohammad Majid Shafi (32), Shaikh Alam Shaikh (41), Mohd Sajid Ansari (34), Muzzammil Shaikh (27), <g data-gr-id="66">Soheil</g> Mehmood Shaikh (43) and Zamir Ahmad Shaikh (36).

The blasts had ripped the suburban trains within a span of 10 minutes between Khar Road-Santacruz, Bandra-Khar Road, Jogeshwari-Mahim Junction, Mira Road- Bhayander, Matunga- Mahim Junction and Borivali.

The court had last week concluded hearing arguments on the quantum of <g data-gr-id="82">sentence</g> when prosecution demanded death penalty for 8 of the 12 accused while it sought life imprisonment for the remaining four.

On September 23, the Special MCOCA court had reserved its order on sentencing in the case for today.

Earlier, on September 11, it had convicted 12 of the 13 accused, all allegedly having links with banned SIMI, while acquitting one.

The accused were found guilty of charges under IPC, Explosives Act, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act and Indian Railway Act and those under MCOCA.

The court also found all the 12 accused guilty under Section 3 (1) (i) of MCOCA, which attracts capital punishment.

During the investigations, 13 accused, all of them <g data-gr-id="77">Indians,</g> were arrested and brought to trial.

The <g data-gr-id="67">chargesheet</g> filed by Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in November 2006 had named 30 accused, out of which 17 of them are absconding.

The absconding -- 13 Pakistan nationals-- include Azam Chima, <g data-gr-id="72">member</g> of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.

After 12 accused were found guilty, Judge Shinde had allowed the defence lawyers to examine witnesses to bring out the mitigating circumstances in the case.

Defence lawyers subsequently examined nine witnesses to show the court that the accused have <g data-gr-id="68">undergonereformation</g> and thus may not be given capital punishment.

The list of witnesses included the relatives of accused, doctors, teachers and others while one of the convicts examined another accused in Mumbai 2012 serial blasts.

After the examination of witnesses, the defence advocates had pleaded leniency saying that the 12 convicts were merely the pawns of mastermind Cheema.