Bilkis Bano Case: SC To Hear Plea Against Release Of 11 Convicts On August 7, No More Deferment

The apex court instructed all parties involved to submit their answers, ensuring that the hearing will not be deferred further for hearing.

At the time of the incident, Bilkis Bano was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was gang-raped.

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The Supreme Court has scheduled the final hearing on August 7 regarding the pleas challenging the remission granted last year to all 11 convicts involved in the gang-rape case of Bilkis Bano and the murder of seven members of her family during the 2002 post-Godhra Gujarat riots. During the proceedings on Monday, a bench of justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan noted that the pleadings have been completed and all the convicts have been served notices through newspaper publications or directly. The court instructed all parties involved to submit their answers, ensuring that the hearing will not be deferred further.

"We hold that pleadings in the matter are complete and all the respondents have been served notices in all the cases though newspaper publications or directly. We list the matter for final hearing on August 7. All parties should file short written submissions, synopsis and list of dates," the bench said.

In compliance with the Supreme Court's May 9 order, notices have been published in local newspapers, including those in Gujarati and English, regarding the convicts who could not be personally served the notice.

The Supreme Court, on March 27, described the gang rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of her family members during the 2002 Godhra riots as a "horrendous" act. It raised concerns regarding the application of uniform standards, similar to those in other murder cases when granting remission to the 11 convicts involved in the case.

Bano has filed a challenge against the remission of sentence granted to the 11 convicts. Last year, on August 15, the Gujarat government released all 11 convicts after granting them remission.

At the time of the incident, Bilkis Bano was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was gang-raped while fleeing the riots that erupted following the Godhra train burning incident. Tragically, her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members who lost their lives.

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