Bilkis Bano case: SC to hear plea against relief to 11 gangrape convicts

CHENNAI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to consider listing of the PIL filed by social activist Subhashini Ali, journalist Revati Laul and professor Roop Rekha Verma challenging the remission granted to the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case.

The petition wherein the activists had sought for production as well as setting aside of the remission order dated August 15, 2022 passed by the Government of Gujarat and directing immediate re arrest of the convicts was mentioned by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal and Advocate Aparna Bhat before the bench of CJI NV Ramana, Justices Hima Kohli and CT Ravikumar.

Sibal submitted that challenge was only preferred against the remission order granted to the 11 persons and not the Supreme Court’s order which had held that Gujarat Government was the appropriate government to consider the remission in the case.

“We’re challenging the remission order granted to 11 persons who were convicted for killing 14 persons. The Supreme Court order is fine. Pregnant women were raped & killed,” Sibal said. Bhat also urged the bench to consider the matter tomorrow.Considering the submission, CJI said, “We will see”.

The 11 convicts who were freed were sentenced to life imprisonment for gang rape and murder of multiple people during the Godhra riots in 2002 by the Sessions Court. Their conviction was even upheld in 2017 by the Gujarat HC. Bilkis Bano who was pregnant at the time was gang raped and her 3 year old daughter was killed by a mob during the violence that broke across the state after Sabarmati Express was attacked in Godhra.

It has been argued in the petition that the competent authority was not an authority which was entirely independent and the one that could apply its mind to the facts.“It would appear that the constitution of members of the competent authority of the State of Gujarat, also bore allegiance to a political party, and also were sitting MLAs. As such, it would appear that the competent authority was not an authority that was entirely independent, and one that could independently apply its mind to the facts at hand,” plea stated.

Activists in the plea have also argued that no right thinking authority applying any test under any extant policy would consider it fit to grant remission to persons who were found to have been involved in the commission of such gruesome acts.