The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on pleas challenging the premature release of convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang rape case. The matter was heard by a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan who also directed the central as well as Gujarat government to submit original records related to the remission of the sentence of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case by October 16.
All convicts were released as per remission policy
The top court reserved the order after hearing submissions by Bano’s counsel and lawyers for the Centre, the Gujarat government and the PIL petitioners. The Gujarat government had released the 11 convicts, who were sentenced to life imprisonment, on August 15, 2022. All the convicts in the case were released as per the remission policy prevalent in Gujarat at the time of their conviction in 2008.
Several leaders challenged remission
In addition to Bano’s petition challenging the remission to convicts, a number of other PILs have also challenged the relief, including one from CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali, independent journalist Revati Laul, and former vice-chancellor of Lucknow University Roop Rekha Verma. TMC MP Mahua Moitra has also filed a PIL against the remission granted to the convicts and their premature release.
Bilkis Bano case
In March 2002 during the post-Godhra riots, Bano was allegedly gang-raped and left to die with 14 members of her family, including her three-year-old daughter. She was five months pregnant when rioters attacked her family in Vadodara.
Bilkis Bano and others had approached the top court challenging the premature release of 11 convicts. Some PILs were filed seeking directions to revoke the remission granted to 11 convicts. Earlier, the Gujarat government in its affidavit had defended remission granted to convicts saying they completed 14 years of sentence in prison and their “behaviour was found to be good”.
(With inputs from agencies)
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