Bilkis Bano Case: All 11 Life Imprisonment Convicts Released From Godhra Jail

Bilkis Bano's family members were attacked by a mob during the post-Godhra riots on March 3, 2002. Bano was gang-raped and seven members of her family were killed.

2002 communal riots victim Bilkis Bano during a press conference

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All the eleven convicts sentenced to life imprisonment in the 2002 post-Godhra Bilkis Bano gang rape case were released from Gujarat's Godhra sub-jail on Monday. The Gujarat government allowed their release under its remission policy, PTI quoted an official as saying.

The 11 convicts -- Jaswantbhai Nai, Govindbhai Nai, Shailesh Bhatt, Radhesham Shah, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Pradeep Mordhiya, Bakabhai Vohania, Rajubhai Soni, Mitesh Bhatt, and Ramesh Chandana -- walked out of jail on Monday.

Bilkis Bano's family members were attacked by a mob at Randhikpur village in Limkheda taluka of the Dahod district during the post-Godhra riots on March 3, 2002.

Bilkis Bano, who was five months pregnant at that time, was gang-raped and seven members of her family were killed. The accused were arrested in 2004. 

On January 21, 2008, a CBI court sentenced the eleven accused to life imprisonment for gang rape and murder of seven members of Bilkis Bano's family. Their conviction was upheld by the Bombay High Court.

The convicts have served more than 15 years in jail.

One of the convicts, Radheshyam Shah, then approached the Gujarat High Court seeking remission of the sentence under Sections 432 and 433 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

However, the HC dismissed his plea and observed that the "appropriate government" to decide the matter was Maharashtra and not Gujarat.

Shah then filed a plea in the Supreme Court, saying that he had been in jail for 15 years and 4 months without remission as of April 1, 2022.

The Supreme Court in May stated that since the crime was committed in Gujarat, the state of Gujarat was the appropriate government to examine Shah's application.

The SC directed the Gujarat government to consider the application for premature release in terms of the policy dated July 9, 1992 and may decide within two months.

The Gujarat government then formed a committee that was headed by Panchmahals Collector Sujal Mayatra.

"A committee formed a few months back took a unanimous decision in favour of remission of all the 11 convicts in the case. The recommendation was sent to the state government, and yesterday we received the orders for their release," PTI quoted Mayatra as saying.

(With inputs from PTI)