Supreme Court Rejects Gujarat Government’s Review Plea In Bilkis Bano Remission Case
The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed the Gujarat government’s plea to review its previous verdict, which cancelled the remission granted to 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case.
The men were convicted of gang-raping Bilkis Bano and murdering seven of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
The Gujarat government had filed the review petition challenging the Supreme Court’s January 8 ruling that annulled the remission and criticized the state’s decision to release the convicts.
The state government argued that the top court’s decision included an “error apparent on the face of the record,” accusing the state of “usurpation of power” and “abuse of discretion.”
However, a Supreme Court bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan found no merit in the Gujarat government’s claims.
“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 in its ruling.
The Bilkis Bano case is one of the most prominent cases from the 2002 Gujarat riots, which erupted after the Godhra train burning incident. Bilkis Bano, then 21 and five months pregnant, was gang-raped while attempting to escape the violence. Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members killed in the attack.
In 2008, 11 men were sentenced to life imprisonment for the crimes. However, they were released on August 15, 2022, under the Gujarat government’s remission policy.
The Supreme Court, in its January 8, 2024 ruling, stated that the Gujarat government did not have the authority to grant remission since the trial took place in Maharashtra. The court ordered the convicts to surrender following the cancellation of their remission.
The Supreme Court’s decision reaffirms the importance of proper jurisdiction and reinforces its stance on the Bilkis Bano case, marking a significant development in India’s legal landscape.