’Gujarat govt not competent...’: Supreme Court on early release of 11 gangrape-murder convicts in Bilkis Bano case

The Supreme Court of India on Monday said that the petition filed by Bilkis Bano challenging the early release of of 11 convicts was maintainable. The Supreme Court of India has quashed the order of the Gujarat government's decision to grant remission to 11 convicts in rape of Bilkis Bano.

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The top court said that the State of Gujarat was not competent to to grant remission to 11 convicts sentenced to life term for the gangrape of Bilkis Bano and killing her family members during the 2002 Gujarat communal riots.

A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan pronounced the judgement on Monday.

The Supreme Court also pulled up the Gujarat government for passing remission orders in August 2022 in a cyclostyled manner, with no application of mind.

Bilkis Bano Case: SC quashes early release, 11 convicts to go back to jail

"Gujarat government did not have jurisdiction to decide the remission since the appropriate government to consider remission was the state where the trial took place," the apex court said.

The top court holds its May 13, 2022 order of another bench on remission of convicts was obtained by playing 'fraud on court'.

Bilkis Bano had filed a petition challenging the remission granted to convicts. Besides the petition filed by Bano, 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 their premature release.

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

All 11 convicts were granted remission by the Gujarat government and released on August 15, 2022.