Bilkis Bano Case: On Wednesday, the Supreme Court decided to set up a special bench to hear Bilkis Bano’s appeal against the sentences being commuted for 11 prisoners. Bano was gang-raped during the Gujarat riots in 2002. During the Godhra riots in 2002, the prisoners gang-raped Bilkis Bano and killed several members of her family. Bano, who was represented by Shobha Gupta, was assured by a bench consisting of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justices PS Narasimha, and JB Pardiwala that a fresh bench will be created.
Gujarati government released all 11 prisoners after granting them pardons
On August 15 of last year, the Gujarati government released all 11 prisoners after granting them pardons. Gupta stated that the case needed to be heard immediately and that a fresh bench needed to be assembled.Earlier, on January 24, the hearing on Bano’s petition challenging the Gujarat government’s decision to commute the sentences of 11 gang-rape defendants was postponed because the judges involved were members of a five-judge Constitution bench hearing a case involving passive euthanasia. The gang rape survivor had filed a separate petition seeking a review of the highest court’s May 13, 2022 ruling on a plea by a convict in addition to the suit challenging the release of the convicts. Also, seven members of Bilkis Bano’s family perished in the riots in Gujarat in 2002.
Supreme court rejected Bano’s review request
The state government was instructed by the top court in its May 13, 2022 order to assess a convict’s request for early release in accordance with its July 9, 1992 policy, which was in effect at the time of the conviction, and make a decision within two months. Nevertheless, the supreme court rejected Bano’s review request against the May 13, 2022 order in December of last year. Gujarat government in its affidavit has supported remission granted to convicts claiming they finished 14 years of term in prison and their “conduct was deemed to be decent”.
Remission was granted on August 10
The State government said it has considered the cases of all 11 convicts as per the policy of 1992 and remission was granted on August 10, 2022, and the Central government also approved the ore-mature release of convicts. It is pertinent to note that the remission was not granted under the circular governing grant of remission to prisoners as part of the celebration of “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”, it had said.
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