SC quashes remission order of Gujarat govt in Bilkis Bano case

The Supreme Court on Monday revokes the Gujarat government's decision to grant remission to 11 convicts involved in the case of the gang-rape of Bilkis Bano and murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots.

A Supreme Court bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan announced the verdict.

The top court ruled that "playing fraud" on the court and omitting important data was how the May 13, 2022 ruling which ordered the Gujarat government to take remission of the convict into consideration was reached.

Supreme Court holds that the judgment of May 13, 2022 (which directed the Gujarat government to consider remission of convict) was obtained by "playing fraud" on the court and by suppressing material facts.

The convicts had not approached the court with clean hands, says the… pic.twitter.com/PILvSIUVGj

— ANI (@ANI) January 8, 2024

The Supreme Court holds that the State, where an offender is tried and sentenced, is competent to decide the remission plea of convicts. Supreme Court holds that the State of Gujarat was not competent to pass the remission orders of the convicts but the Maharashtra government was.

Bilkis Bano case | Supreme Court holds that the State, where an offender is tried and sentenced, is competent to decide the remission plea of convicts. Supreme Court holds that the State of Gujarat was not competent to pass the remission orders of the convicts but the Maharashtra… pic.twitter.com/YcMv3VshL2

— ANI (@ANI) January 8, 2024

What is Bilkis Bano case all about?

Bilkis Bano was allegedly gang-raped and left to die with 14 members of her family, including her three-year-old daughter, during the post-Godhra riots, in March 2002. Bano was five months pregnant when rioters attacked her family in Vadodara.

On August 15, 2022, the Gujarat government had released the 11 convicts, who were sentenced to life imprisonment. All the 11 life-term convicts in the case were released as per the remission policy prevalent in Gujarat at the time of their conviction in 2008.

After which, Bilkis Bano and others approached the top court challenging the premature release of the 11 convicts. 

The state government during the remission on August 10, 2022, said that they have considered the cases of all convicts as per the policy of 1992, and central government has also approved the release of convicts.