The CBI, which took over the probe into the attacks 10 months after the blasts rocked the megapolis, had sought the death penalty for 44 conspirators, including three members of the Memon family -- Tiger Memon's brothers Yaqub, Essa and Yusuf. Judge Kode sentenced Essa and Yusuf to life imprisonment in view of their ill-health.
Kode, who has reportedly not missed a single day of work till June this year, when he slipped in his bathroom and fractured his arm, became the only judge to get an insurance cover of Rs 25 lakh in view of the sensitivity of the case. He also enjoys Z-category security cover.
The sentencing of the 100 convicts began on May 18 this year after the court went through a whopping 13,000 pages of oral evidence, 7,000 pages of documentary evidence and 6,700 pages of statements made by the accused. The court also examined 684 witnesses.
A total of 38,070 questions were put to the accused during the recording of their statements. The prosecution also provided evidence to show that RDX was used for the first time in India in the 1993 blasts.
After prolonged arguments, charges were framed against 123 people on April 1995 and examination of witnesses began in June 1995.
These included eye-witnesses to the planting of car and suit-case bombs and recovery of arms and ammunition, special executive magistrates who conducted identification parades, police officers who recorded confessional statements of the accused and investigating officers.
Twenty-seven criminal cases were registered in connection with the blasts in several police stations of Mumbai city and Thane and Raigad districts.