Bilkis Bano Case: SC Verdict On Pleas Against Early Release Of Convicts Today — Top Points

The Gujarat government had allowed the release of all the 11onvicts in the Bilkis Bano gang rape case on August 15, 2022.

The Supreme Court will today pronounce its verdict on the pleas challenging the remission granted to 11 convicts in the case of gang rape of Bilkis Bano and murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots, reported news agency PTI. After an 11-day hearing on petitions including the one filed by Bano, a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan reserved its judgment on October 12, 2023. While doing so, the top court ordered the Centre and the Gujarat government to submit by October 16 the original records related to the remission of sentence of the 11 convicts.

Here Are Top Points On The Case

• The Gujarat government allowed the release of all the eleven convicts sentenced to life imprisonment in the 2002 post-Godhra Bilkis Bano gang rape case from the state's Godhra sub-jail on August 15, 2022. 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 as the country prepared to celebrate the independence day.


• Bilkis Bano had said that her faith in justice had been shaken and left her numb. Criticising the decision to let the convicts free, she said that nobody enquired about her safety and well-being before taking "such a big and unjust decision". She appealed to the Gujarat government to "undo this harm" and give back her "right to live without fear and in peace". 


• In a statement released by Bilkis’ lawyer Sobha on her behalf, the former said, "Two days ago, on August 15, 2022, the trauma of the past 20 years washed over me again when I heard that the 11 convicted men who devastated my family and my life, and took from me my three-year-old daughter, had walked free."


• Congress leader Rahul Gandhi trained his guns against Prime Minister Narendra Modi over release of convicts saying that the “country is seeing difference between his words and actions.” "Those who raped a 5-month pregnant woman and killed her 3-year-old girl were released during the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav'..."What is the message being sent out to the women of the country from those who are talking about women empowerment?" he said.


• Amid intense attack over the release order, then-Godhra BJP MLA CK Raulji stated that he does not know whether the inmates, who were freed after more than 15 years in prison, were engaged in the crime. "We took the decision on the basis of a Supreme Court order. We were asked to look at their (convicts’) behaviour and decide (on their early release),”" Raulji informed a news portal, reported PTI.


• He further said: "We asked the jailer and learnt that their behaviour was good in the prison…also (some of the convicts) are Brahmins. They have good ‘sanskaar’ (values)."


• The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) also "strongly condemned the early and "unjustified" release of 11 convicts, calling it "part of a pattern of impunity in India for those engaged in violence against religious minorities."


• Several pleas were moved in the top court against the remission. TMC's Mahua Moitra, Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPI-M) leader Subhashini Ali, journalist Revati Laul, and professor and social activist Roop Rekha Verma among others. 


• During the hearing, the Supreme Court questioned the parole given to the 11 convicts saying the gravity of the offence should have been considered by the state. "Apples cannot be compared with oranges, similarly massacre cannot be compared with single murder," the court said.


• The Centre and the Gujarat government had told the court they were not filing any plea for a review of the court's March 27 order asking for the production of the original records with regard to the remission granted to the convicts. The Gujarat government had raised preliminary objections with regard to the petitions filed in the matter other than the one by Bilkis Bano.


• The Supreme Court said the State governments can’t be selective in granting remission to convicts and the opportunity to reform and reintegrate with society should be given to every prisoner as the Gujarat government defended its decision of premature release of all 11 convicts.


• 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. She was five months pregnant at that time, and was gang-raped while 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.