LI Network
Published on:18 July 2023 at 10:50 IST
The Supreme Court announced that it will begin the final hearing on August 7 regarding a series of petitions challenging the early release of 11 convicts who had been involved in the gang rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of her family members during the 2002 Godhra riots.
The bench, comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan, stated that the pleadings in the case have been completed, and notices have been served to all the convicts.
The bench further noted that parties wishing to submit their replies, written submissions, synopses, and a list of dates are at liberty to do so. “We list the matter for final hearing on August 7.
All parties should file short written submissions, synopsis and list of dates,” the bench stated in its order. The court also granted the convicts the opportunity to file their counter affidavits regarding the petitions challenging the remission.
Previously, the apex court had ordered the publication of notices in local newspapers, including in Gujarati and English, for a convict who had not been served notice.
Bilkis Bano and others had approached the Supreme Court to challenge the premature release of the 11 convicts.
In addition to filing a petition against the convicts’ premature release, Bano had also filed a review petition seeking a review of the court’s earlier order, in which it had requested the Gujarat government to consider the plea for remission for one of the convicts.
The review petition was dismissed.
Several public interest litigations (PILs) were also filed, seeking directions to revoke the remission granted to the 11 convicts.
The pleas were filed by organizations such as the National Federation of Indian Women, represented by General Secretary Annie Raja, Member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Subhashini Ali, journalist Revati Laul, social activist and professor Roop Rekha Verma, and TMC MP Mahua Moitra.
In its affidavit, the Gujarat government defended the remission granted to the convicts, stating that they had completed a 14-year prison sentence and their behavior had been deemed good.
The state government claimed that it had considered the cases of all 11 convicts according to the 1992 policy, and the remission was granted on August 10, 2022. The Central government also approved the release of the convicts.
It should be noted that the remission was not granted under the circular governing the grant of remission to prisoners as part of the celebration of “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.”
The government’s affidavit stated, “The state government considered all the opinions and decided to release 11 prisoners since they have completed 14 years and above in prisons and their behavior was found to be good.” The government also questioned the locus standi of the petitioners who filed the PIL, arguing that they were outsiders to the case.
The pleas contended that the petitioners had challenged the order of the competent authority of the Gujarat government, which allowed the 11 individuals accused of heinous offenses to be released on August 15, 2022, following the extension of remission to them.
The pleas stated that the remission in this heinous case would be against the public interest, shock the collective public conscience, and be contrary to the interests of the victim (whose family has expressed concern for her safety).
On August 15, the Gujarat government released the 11 convicts who had been sentenced to life imprisonment.
The release was carried out in accordance with the remission policy in effect in Gujarat at the time of their conviction in 2008. In March 2002, during the post-Godhra riots, Bilkis Bano was allegedly gang-raped and left to die along with 14 members of her family, including her three-year-old daughter.
She was five months pregnant when the rioters attacked her family in Vadodara.