NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday sought a response from the Centre and Gujarat in the PIL challenging the remission granted to the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case.
The PIL was filed by social activists Subhashini Ali, journalist Revati Laul and professor Roop Rekha Verma.
The bench of CJI NV Ramana, Justices Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath also asked the petitioner to implead the 11 convicts and has sought their response within two weeks.
Aggrieved by the remission granted by the state government, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for the activists said, “In the night of 28th February, her cousin delivered a baby girl and on March 3, 2002, they were proceeding to a village. A group started shouting ‘Musalmano ko Maaro’, they had lathis and sickles. Around 14 people were killed and a pregnant woman was gang rapped.”
Stressing on the fact that the accused were convicted for their gruesome acts, Justice Rastogi said that the bench was only concerned with whether the remission granted was within the parameters or not.
“Is it sufficient to say that the remission was wrong, merely because the act was horrific?” Justice Rastogi asked.
The CJI said, “I read somewhere that it was written that SC had ordered the release. No, we only told Gujarat to proceed in accordance with the law.”
Activists in the petition had sought production as well as setting aside the remission order dated August 15, 2022, passed by the Government of Gujarat and directing immediate re-arrest of the convicts.
It has been argued in the petition that the competent authority was not an authority which was entirely independent and 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,” the 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.
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.
The 11 convicts who were granted remission 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.
On May 13, 2022, the bench headed by Justice Ajay Rastogi in a petition by one of the convicts held that Gujarat Government was the appropriate government to consider the remission in the case. It had also directed the State to consider preferred by the convict in terms of its policy dated 9th July 1992 which was applicable on the date of conviction. The state was also asked to decide the same within a period of two months.
(With PTI Inputs)