The Gujarat High Court on Friday upheld the sentences of 19 convicts in a case related to a massacre in Ode town of Anand district during the 2002 riots. The court acquitted four convicts who had been sentenced to life by a trial court, the Hindustan Times reported.

A special court had found 23 people guilty for the massacre in 2012, and sentenced 18 to life and five others to seven years in jail. The convicts had appealed in the High Court against the trial court’s verdict. The Special Investigation Team, which had looked into the case, had sought the death penalty for those who got life imprisonment and longer jail terms for the others.

A bench of Justices Akul Kureshi and BN Karia finished hearing the appeals in April and had reserved their verdict.

On March 1, 2002, two days after the burning of a train in Godhra, 23 Muslims were burnt alive in Ode town in Anand district. Of the 47 accused, the trial court had convicted 23 and acquitted as many. One had died during the trial.