Bilkis Bano Case: SC Hears Pleas Against Remissions Of All Convicts

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday heard a batch of pleas challenging the remissions granted last year to all the 11 convicts in the gang-rape case of Bilkis Bano and murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 post-Godhra Gujarat riots.

A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Prashant Kumar Mishra noted, in accordance with its May 9 order. Notices have been published in local Gujarati and English newspapers against the convicts who could not be served the notices.

The Centre and the Gujarat Government had told the court that they are not filing any plea for review of the Court's March 27 order, asking for production of the original records with the remission granted to the convicts.

The Gujarat government had raised preliminary objections to the petitions other than one by Bilkis Bano, saying it will have wide ramifications every now and then third parties will approach court in the criminal cases.

The apex court had on March 27 termed Bilkis Bano's gang-rape and the murder of her family members during the riots a "horrendous" act, and asked the Gujarat government whether uniform standards, as followed in other murder cases, were applied while granting remission to the convicts.

Convicts granted remission by Gujarat govt

All 11 convicts were granted remission by the Gujarat government and they walked free on August 15, 2022.

PILs were filed by CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali, independent journalist Revati Laul, former vice-chancellor of Lucknow University Roop Rekha Verma and Trinamul Congress MP Mahua Moitra against the release of the convicts.

Bilkis Bano was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was gang-raped while fleeing the horror of the communal riots that broke out after the Godhra train burning incident in which 59 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya were killed.