Bilkis Bano case: SC quashes remission to 11 convicts; says Gujarat govt not competent to pass order

New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Monday quashed the Gujarat government's decision to grant remission to 11 convicts involved in rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of her family.

The court further stated that the State of Gujarat was not competent to pass the remission orders in the Bilkis Bano case. It held maintainable PILs challenging remission granted to convicts.

The convicts were sentenced to life for gangraping Bilkis Bano and murdering seven of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots. But they were granted remission by the Gujarat government and released on August 15, 2022.

A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan in the Supreme Court had on October 12, 2023, reserved its verdict after an 11-day hearing on the petitions, including the one filed by Bano. While reserving the judgement, the apex court had directed the Centre and the Gujarat government to submit by October 16 the original records related to the remission of sentence of the 11 convicts.
While hearing the matter in September 2023, the top court had asked whether convicts have a fundamental right to seek remission.

During the earlier arguments, the top court had observed that state governments should not be selective in granting remission to convicts and the opportunity to reform and reintegrate with society should extend to every prisoner.

Besides the petition filed by Bano contesting the remission granted to them by the Gujarat government, several other PILs, including one by CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali, independent journalist Revati Laul and former vice-chancellor of Lucknow University Roop Rekha Verma, have challenged the relief. TMC leader Mahua Moitra has also filed a PIL against the remission and the premature release of the convicts.

The rape and murder convicts in the Bilkis Bano case. File Photo.

Bilkis Bano was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was gang-raped while fleeing the horror of the communal riots that broke out after the Godhra train burning incident. Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members killed in the riots.
(With PTI and LiveLaw inputs.)

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