However, since their vehicle developed a snag, the second blast took place in Zaveri Bazaar, the hub of the jewellery trade in the city.

Defence lawyers -- Wahab Khan (representing Hanif), Sudesh Pasgola (Fahimida) and S. Kunjuraman (Ashrat) -- had said their clients were innocent.

'This is a baseless and meaningless judgement. There is not an iota of evidence against my client (Ashrat) to hold him guilty. I shall move the Bombay High Court,' Kunjuraman said after the ruling came in.

Khan had argued that this was not 'the rarest of rare cases' so it did not warrant the death penalty.

'My client had no personal grudge against any of the victims in the incidents, they were simply misguided and indoctrinated,' Khan had said.