The court ordered that Pervez Sheikh, Abdul Turq and Mohammed Mushtaq Tarani all go to the gallows for their involvement in planting the bombs in India's financial and entertainment capital.

In total, 100 people were found guilty of involvement in the "Black Friday" attacks. Most of them have already been sentenced to jail and Wednesday's hearing was the first time the death penalty has been handed down.

The attacks were allegedly organised by Mumbai's Muslim-dominated underworld in revenge for deadly Hindu-Muslim clashes a few months earlier.

"The accused have argued that the Babri Masjid and Hindu-Muslim riots impacted their actions. But this is not true... Their act is a disgrace to the community," Judge P. Kode told the court.

The alleged masterminds of the blasts, Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon, have been on the run since 1993. Indian investigators say they were aided by Pakistan's intelligence service but Islamabad has denied any link.

Chief prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said Sheikh was found guilty of being involved in the main conspiracy and smuggling in the explosives.

Turq, known to be close to the Memon family, drove a jeep packed with explosives into a shopping arcade, while Tarani was found guilty of parking an explosives-laden scooter at a five-star hotel.