Bilkis Bano Convicts' Case: SC Dismisses Gujarat Govt's Plea To Review Observations Against State In Jan 8 Verdict
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan rejected the Gujarat government's application for listing review petition in open court.
The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea filed by the Gujarat government seeking a review of its January 8 verdict in the Bilkis Bano convicts' case over certain observations and remarks made against the state for its conduct regarding the premature release of the 11 convicts.
"Having carefully gone through the Review Petitions, the order under challenge and the papers annexed therewith, we are satisfied that there is no error apparent on the face of the record or any merit in the Review Petitions, warranting reconsideration of the order impugned. The Review Petitions are, accordingly, dismissed," the bench said, as reported by news agency PTI.
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan also rejected the application for listing review petition in open court.
In February, the Gujarat government had filed a plea seeking a review of the apex court's January 8 judgment, quashing the remission granted to the convicts. It had said that the observations made by the Supreme Court against the state were "highly inappropriate and contradictory to the case record" and "caused significant harm to the state".
The top court's judgment stated that the Gujarat government "acted in tandem and was complicit with Respondent no. 3/accused", Radheshyam Bhagwandas Shah, who was among the 11 men convicted of raping Bilkis Bano and murdering seven of her family members during the 2002 riots. The state government argued that this remark was contrary to the case record and unwarranted.
The Supreme Court had struck down the relief granted by the state to them and had ordered them to surrender to jail authorities within two weeks. It had also noted that the government was not "appropriate" to decide on the remission of convicts and that it had usurped the power of the Maharashtra government in deciding the convicts' release as their trial was held in a CBI court in Maharashtra, Times Of India reported.
All 11 convicts were sentenced to life in connection with the Bilkis Bano case. She was 21 and five months pregnant at the time when she was raped while escaping the communal riots after the Godhra train-burning incident. Her three-year-old daughter was also among the seven family members she lost.
The 11 convicts were released by the state government under its remission and premature release policy on August 15, 2022.
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