The Supreme Court will today hear petitions challenging the grant of remission by the Gujarat government to 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case.
HIGHLIGHTS
- SC will hear pleas challenging the release of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case.
- The 11 convicts walked out of jail under the Gujarat government’s remission policy.
- The pleas were filed by lawmakers and women’s rights activists.
The Supreme Court will on Thursday hear petitions challenging the grant of remission by the Gujarat government to 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case.
The top court had on Tuesday agreed to consider the pleas filed by CPI(M) Politburo member Subhashini Ali, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, and women’s rights activists.
A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana took note of the submissions of senior advocate Kapil Sibal and lawyer Aparna Bhat against the grant of remission and consequent release of the convicts in the case.
Eleven accused in the case were sentenced to life imprisonment by a CBI court in Mumbai in January 2008 over charges of gang rape of Bilkis Bano while she was several months pregnant and the murder of her family members. The sentence was later upheld by the Bombay High Court.
#EXCLUSIVE | It's all shocking because the convicts have no remorse about the crimes committed: Justice UD Salvi (R) to @SardesaiRajdeep
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) August 25, 2022
| #BilkisBano #NewsToday #RE pic.twitter.com/3gPxDNzftM
One of the convicts had approached the Supreme Court with a remission plea after he had served more than 15 years behind bars. A bench comprising Justices Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath directed the Gujarat government to consider the plea of remission.
Last week, all the 11 convicts sentenced to life imprisonment in the 2002 post-Godhra Bilkis Bano gang rape case walked out of the Godhra sub-jail after the Gujarat government allowed their release under its remission policy.
Their release sparked widespread outrage and condemnation. Over 6,000 people, including activists and historians, urged the Supreme Court to revoke the early release of the convicts in the case.
“The trauma of the past 20 years washed over me again,” Bilkis Bano said after the 11 convicts walked free. She appealed to the Gujarat government to “undo this harm” and give her back the “right to live without fear and in peace”.
WHAT IS THE CASE?
Bilkis Bano was 20 years old and several months pregnant at the time she was subjected to brutality by men she had apparently known for years. She referred to one of them as ‘Chacha’ (uncle) and the others as brothers. She was gang-raped and left almost lifeless. She saw her family members being killed. Her three-year-old daughter was also murdered on March 3, 2002.
On regaining consciousness, Bilkis borrowed clothes from a tribal woman and went to the Limkheda police station in Dahod district to register a complaint. The head constable there suppressed facts and wrote a truncated version of the complaint.
It was just the beginning of her ordeal in pursuit of justice. She received death threats, prompting the Supreme Court, in 2004, to move the trial out of Gujarat to Mumbai.
In January 2008, a special CBI court in Mumbai convicted 11 of the 20 accused on charges of conspiracy to rape a pregnant woman, murder, unlawful assembly, and other charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. The head constable was convicted for “making incorrect records” to save the accused. Seven of the 20 accused were acquitted due to lack of evidence. One person died during the course of the trial.
