SC sets aside death sentence in 1996 Rajasthan bus blast case, orders fresh trial

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (July 21, 2026) set aside the conviction and death sentence awarded to Abdul Hameed in the 1996 Samleti bus bomb blast case, nearly three decades after his arrest and almost 12 years after he was sentenced to death. Holding that the proceedings stood vitiated by the denial of effective legal representation and other procedural lapses that undermined the constitutional guarantee of a fair trial, the court ordered a de novo trial to be completed within one year.