The Supreme Court in the case observed wherein the batch of petitions is filed challenging the premature release of convicts in the Bilkis Bano case.
The bench comprising of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan in the case observed and has reserved its judgment on the petitions on October 12 last year.
The petition moved challenged the decision of the Gujarat government to grant remission to 11 convicts sentenced to life imprisonment for multiple murders and gang rapes, including that of Bilkis Bano, during the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat.
On Independence Day, the life convicts were allowed to walk free, sparking widespread controversy in 2022.
The bunch of Public Interest Litigations were filed in the Supreme Court challenging the remission.
Bilkis Bano herself filed a writ petition and among the PIL petitioners are Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Subhashini Ali, professor Rooplekha Verma, journalist Revati Laul, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, former IPS officer Meeran Chadha Borwankar, and National Federation of Indian Women.
It has also been pointed out by the petitioner in the plea that the remission was granted despite the objections raised by the Presiding Judge and the Investigating Officer to the pre-mature release of convicts who have committed grave and heinous offences.
Further, the Bilkis in the case argued that the release of the prisoners, who committed horrific crimes against herself and her family members, have caused fear and emotional trauma to her.
The counsel, Advocate Shobha Gupta appearing for Bilkis Bano submitted before the court that Eight minors killed, including Bilkis’ three-and-a-half-year-old child, whose head was smashed into a rock. A pregnant woman was gang-raped and the woman who had recently delivered a child was raped and murdered. 14 counts of murder in total. Thus, it is heart wrenching to read about the condition in which the bodies were discovered, which the high court has detailed, these crimes were brutal, barbaric, and gruesome. Convicts have a right to be considered for remission on completion of a certain period of sentence.
The issued raised by the counsel was that the factors that the government has neglected to consider and this being not a case in which remission should be granted. Thus, what would be the impact on society if people like these come out or what precedence value would it set? Considerations at the time of conviction cannot be completely ignored.
It has also been informed by the Gujarat Government to the Supreme Court that it decided to release the 11 convicts as they completed 14 years sentence and as their behaviour was found to be good.
The court was also informed that the decision was taken with the requisite approval of the Central Government (as the case was investigated by the CBI).
Accordingly, the court listed the matter for further consideration on January 08, 2024.
The counsels, Senior Advocates Indira Jaising, and advocates Vrinda Grover, Aparna Bhat, Nizamuddin Pasha, and Pratik R Bombarde represented various public interest litigants.
The counsels, Additional Solicitor-General SV Raju appeared for both the State of Gujarat and the Union of India.
The counsels, Senior advocates Sidharth Luthra, Rishi Malhotra, S Guru Krishnakumar, Advocate Sonia Mathur, and others represented the convicts.