Bilkis Bano case: Supreme Court to hear petitions against premature release of 11 convicts after three weeks
New Delhi, September 9
The Supreme Court on Friday said petitions against the premature release of 11 convicts in the case of Bilkis Bano’s gang-rape and murder of her seven family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots will be taken up after three weeks.
A Bench led by Justice Ajay Rastogi – which had on August 25 issued notice to the Gujarat Government on a petition filed by three activists challenging the premature release of 11 convicts that sparked widespread outrage — asked the Gujarat government counsel to file relevant records in two weeks.
On Friday, a fresh petition filed by TMC MP Mahua Moitra challenging the remission was taken up for hearing.
During the hearing, advocate Rishi Malhotra, representing one of the 11 convicts, questioned the locus standi of petitioners.
The 11 convicts prematurely released on August 15 were Jaswant Nai, Govind Nai, Shailesh Bhatt, Radhyesham Shah, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Pradeep Mordhiya, Bakabhai Vohania, Rajubhai Soni, Mitesh Bhatt and Ramesh Chandana. They were said to have been released due to completion of 14 years in prison, besides their age and behaviour during incarceration.
Bilkis Bano, pregnant at the time of crime, was gangraped and her three-year-old daughter Saleha and 13 others were killed by a mob on March 3, 2002, in Dahod during violence that broke out in Gujarat after the Sabarmati Express was attacked in Godhra and 59 ‘kar sewaks’, were burnt to death.
The Supreme Court had handed over the probe to the CBI and the trial was shifted to Mumbai where a Sessions Court in 2008 convicted 11 accused of gangrape and murder and awarded life imprisonment to them. Later, the conviction was upheld by the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court.
The three activists who moved the top court against the remission granted to the convicts are: CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali, journalist and filmmaker Revati Laul and Prof Roop Rekha Verma.
