By Probir Pramanik and Murali Krishnan,

Mumbai, Sep 13 (IANS) Exactly 13 years and six months after a string of powerful blasts killed 257 people in India's financial capital Mumbai, a special court Tuesday began delivering justice, finding five members of the influential Memon family guilty and acquitting three others.

There was high drama inside the court and outside as Judge P.D. Kode, who has himself reportedly received threats during trial, started delivering his judgment in batches at the Arthur Road jail premises amid high security and public scrutiny, having postponed the ruling once last month.

Judge Kode found the Memon brothers -- Tiger, Yusuf, Essa and Yakub -- and Yakub's wife Rabina guilty under anti-terror laws while acquitting three others of the family, the first eight in the list of 123 accused.

"Finding the Memon brothers guilty was expected. But what happens to the prime accused such as Dawood Ibrahim and his lieutenant, Tiger Memon? Will they ever be brought to justice?" queried an anguished shopkeeper at Century Bazar in Worli, whose son was killed in the blasts.

The rest of the accused, including Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt who is 117 in the list of 123, might have to wait several weeks before getting to know their fate. The actor is charged with taking a weapon from at least one of the accused.

The 13 devastating blasts spread over 130 minutes on March 12, 1993 killed 257 people and injured about 700. It was not only India's worst terror attack but also led to the country's longest criminal trial against terrorists - it began June 30, 1995 and ended Sep 19, 2003.

The entire judgment could probably take several weeks to be completed, with Judge Kode deciding to deliver the verdict serially dividing the 123 accused in batches of eight.

As he read out the judgment Tuesday, Yakub Memon, who is accused of possessing unauthorised weapons and was the first to know his fate, turned abusive when the court found him guilty.

The 36-year-old Yakub, shared a 64-square-foot room with his brother, Essa, for the last 12 years since their surrender in August 1994 till the latter was granted interim bail this July.

"You've turned good men into terrorists," he lashed out in court.

Said an eyewitness to the court proceedings: "He (Yakub) became emotional and wanted the court to allow his wife Rabina to be let off so she could look after the family. But he was quickly whisked away by the court staff."

Yakub, a chartered accountant, has been in jail since his arrest in 1994, but somewhat strangely filed for bail on medical grounds a few days ago when the day of judgement had been fixed.

The Memons could face between five years in prison and a life term.

The mood in the posh seven-storied up-market Al-Hussain co-operative housing society in central Mumbai's Mahim where the members of the Memon family had 'hatched' the conspiracy was a mixture of anger and sorrow.

"We are sad for the Memons. Yakub surrendered to the police and admitted his role in the blasts, the family has already spend such a long time behind bars, they should have let them free," said a sixty-four-year-old retired teacher Rashida Kazi.

The entire Memon family - barring brother Tiger, currently absconding and suspected to be one of the brains behind the blasts along with mob boss Dawood Ibrahim - were in court to face different charges.

Tiger Memon has been charged with masterminding the conspiracy, bomb making, landing of explosives and funding the serial blasts.

Underworld don Dawood, who is the alleged mastermind behind the blasts, is widely believed to be in the Pakistani port city of Karachi.

The court could not bring charges against the other three members - Suleiman, mother Hanifa and Rahin - who were acquitted after being given the benefit of doubt.

Most of them, including all the women, have been out on bail for some time.

Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said the sentencing of the accused would take place after the verdict against all 123 was read out and not simultaneously as widely predicted.

"The court has now agreed to take up the judgment against those who physically planted the bombs at the various places in Mumbai," said Nikam.

The pronouncement of verdict of those accused of crime that are punishable by death starts with accused number nine, Mohammad Kasam Ghansar, who is in jail and is accused of planting the bomb at Katha Bazar where 17 died.

The next four on the list of the accused (numbers 10 to 13) are also accused of planting bombs places such as Century Bazar and the Mahim fishermen's colony.

The spotlight now turns to film star Sanjay Dutt, whose fate hangs in balance as the verdict against him could possibly take several weeks.

"I think the order on Sanjay Dutt`s fate can take up to a month's time," said defence lawyer Farhana Shah.

Sanjay Dutt, who was in court by about 10.30 a.m. Tuesday, was arrested in April 1993 and charged with receiving weapons from accused Abu Salem just before the blasts and hiding them in his house. He has been booked under the Arms Act and also for criminal conspiracy, which is a serious offence.

If convicted under the Arms Act, he faces a maximum of five years in prison, and for criminal conspiracy, a life term.

Sanjay Dutt has already been to prison twice, once in May 1993 and the next time in July 1994.

The series of 13 blasts in the country's financial hub, including at the Bombay Stock Exchange building, the Air India headquarters, a cinema hall and a busy market, were the deadliest bomb attacks in India.

The trial, held in a court inside a prison complex for security reasons, began June 30, 1995 and concluded in 2003, after the court examined 686 witnesses, two accused-turned-approvers and recorded evidence running into 14,000 pages.

Mumbai had been on edge since Tuesday morning with unprecedented security in sensitive areas and around court premises where the long awaited verdict was to be read out.