New Delhi  - An Indian court Thursday sentenced three people, including a husband and wife, to death for twin bomb blasts in Mumbai in 2003 that killed 54 people.

A special court in Mumbai had convicted Mohammad Haneef Sayyed, 46; his wife Fahmeeda, 43; and their 32-year-old associate Ashrat Shafique Ansari, of murder and conspiracy under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act on July 27.

The three Indian nationals were charged with carrying out car bombings near the Gateway of India and the Zaveri Bazar jewellery market in Mumbai on August 25, 2003.

The twin blasts at the busy locations injured more than 240 people.

Fahmeeda Sayyad had made an emotional appeal in court that if she was executed her daughter would be left an orphan, NDTV television channel reported.

The couple's daughter was initially picked up by the police along with the couple but was let off as she was a minor at the time of the bombings.

The prosecution earlier said the blasts were planned in Dubai by Pakistani nationals at the behest of the Islamic militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

Police have said the bombings were in retaliation for the Hindu-Muslim riots in the western state of Gujarat, in which more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed.

The three accused have been in custody for the past six years.

Lawyers for the accused said they would appeal the sentence in a higher court.

The prosecution examined 103 witnesses to build the case against the accused. A key prosecution witness was the taxi driver whose vehicle was used to plant the bomb at the Gateway of India monument.

Mumbai has come under terrorist attack several times in recent years.

Indian security officials said the Pakistan-based LeT has been behind most of the attacks, including the July 2006 bombings on its train network, which killed 186 people and the latest attack in November 2008 in which more than 160 people were killed. (dpa)