Resuming the pronouncement of sentences in the 1998 serial blasts case on the second day, a Coimbatore court on Thursday awarded double life terms to six convicts and imprisonments ranging from 7 to 21 years to 18 others.
On Wednesday, Judge K Uthirapathi had awarded life sentences to 31 convicts, including S A Basha, founder-leader of the banned Al-Umma and its general secretary, Mohammed Ansari, for conspiring to eliminate Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani during his visit to the city on February 14, 1998.
Though the judge had sentenced four others to undergo imprisonment for 10 years on conspiracy charges, they were released as they had already served the term as undertrials.
Of the remaining 35 of the 70 convicts, convicted of conspiracy and murder, the judge sentenced 24 people on Thursday.
Six of them were awarded double life terms and a jail term of 10 to 40 years on various charges which would run concurrently.
Twelve convicts were sentenced to undergo 13 years in prison for conspiracy and seven to 21 years on other charges, which were to run concurrently.
The 18 convicts will serve the remaining period of life imprisonment as they were in jail for the last 10 years.
The remaining six were awarded -- three for seven years each and others 10 years each -- for conspiracy and 10 years for other charges, which would run concurrently. The judge ordered their release from jail since they had already served the term as undertrials.
The judge said that the sentences for the remaining 11 will be pronounced in the evening
