Tuesday, September 12 2006 10:42 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: Police today (Sept12, 2006) tightened security in and around the designated TADA court which is slated to decide the fate of actor Sanjay Dutt and 122 other accused in the much awaited verdict coming 13 years after the serial explosions rocked the city.

On August 10, the court had started dictation of theverdict and said it would deliver judgement on September 12.

The case is historic as CBI, the prosecuting agency, has examined 686 witnesses with the court recording 13,000 pages as evidence during the trial that went on for six years - a record of sorts in Indian legal history.

With Judge P D Kode announcing earlier that he would deliver verdict on September 10, legal sources said the judgement is likely to spread over the next 15 days as the court would take time to announce its findings and decide quantum of punishment for the convicts.

Altogether 257 were killed and 173 injured when series of explosions rocked 13 places in the city on March 12, 1993. Property worth Rs 27 crores was destroyed in the blasts.

Ninety four accused, including Sanjay Dutt are currently on bail, while 29 others are in jail custody. Trial of three more accused Abu Salem, Riyaz Siddiqui and Mustafa Dossa has been separated as they were arrested much later.

Eleven accused died during trial while one, Riyaz Khatri jumped bail and two others Samajwadi Party MP Abu Asim Azmi and Amjad Mehr Baksh were discharged by the Supreme Court.

Twenty nine accused were discharged earlier by the Supreme Court while 29 accused were declared absconding when the chargesheet was filed in 1993 soon after the bomb blasts.