The death sentence of Mohd. Tanvir, one of 38 convicts condemned in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case, will not be carried out for now: the Supreme Court has admitted his appeal and asked for probation, prison conduct and psychological reports.
New Delhi: Mohd. Tanvir alias Talha Mohd. Akhtar Pathan has challenged the Gujarat High Court’s confirmation of his death sentence, and the Supreme Court has admitted that appeal, stayed the execution of the sentence and told the State to file probation officer, jail and psychological evaluation reports within eight weeks [Mohd. Tanvir @ Talha Mohd. Akhtar Pathan v. State of Gujarat].
Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh passed the order on October 9, 2026. No view has been expressed on the merits of the conviction or of the appeal, and the stay is an interim measure confined to this appellant.
Execution on hold, reports on the way
Records of the Trial Court and the High Court were called for, and the Bench stayed the sentence in these words:
There shall be stay of execution of the death sentence awarded to the appellant.
The State of Gujarat has eight weeks to place before the Court every probation officer report that concerns Tanvir. In the same period the Superintendent of the prison concerned must report on the work Tanvir has done in jail and on his conduct and behaviour, and must have him psychologically evaluated at a government medical hospital. The report is to be routed to the Court through the Standing Counsel for the State of Gujarat, and the appeal will come up after 12 weeks.
From the 2008 blasts to the High Court’s confirmation
On July 26, 2008, serial bomb blasts shook Ahmedabad; 56 people died and over 200 were injured. Police alleged that members of the banned Indian Mujahideen were behind them. The cases registered in Ahmedabad and Surat were clubbed and tried as one. A Special Court in February 2022 convicted 49 accused, sentencing 38 to death and the remaining 11 to life imprisonment, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Indian Penal Code, including the provisions on murder and criminal conspiracy.
On July 7, 2026, a Division Bench of the Gujarat High Court of Justice A.Y. Kogje and Justice Samir J. Dave dismissed the appeals, upholding the convictions, confirming the 38 death sentences and affirming the life terms of the other 11.
The convicts have since been approaching the Supreme Court one by one. This is the second stay of execution reported from the Court this month: on October 1, a Bench led by Justice Vikram Nath had stayed the death sentence of another convict, Ahmed Bawa alias Abbu Abubakar Barelvi, and issued notice to Gujarat.
What the reports are for
The material sought goes to the convict’s own circumstances, namely his conduct in custody and his mental state. The order records no finding on the conspiracy allegations underlying the conviction, and the prosecution case is yet to be tested in the appeal.
For as long as the stay lasts, the sentence cannot be executed while the appeal is pending. Once the records and reports are in, the appeal will be heard, and whether the conviction and the death sentence stand will be decided then.
Case Title: Mohd. Tanvir @ Talha Mohd. Akhtar Pathan v. State of Gujarat
Bench: Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh, Supreme Court of India
Date of Order: October 9, 2026