DAHOD: One of the convicts, Pradip Modhiya, of Bilkis Bano gangrape case, returned to his native village of Randhikpur in Dahod district on Wednesday, on a five- day parole granted by the Gujarat High Court recently following the death of his father-in-law, Shobha Gupta, lawyer of Bilkis Bano, told TNIE.
This development came almost after 18 days, when all the 11 convicts of Bano surrendered to the jail authorities, after the SC rejected their pleas seeking more time to surrender.
"Pradeep Modhiya, one if the convicts, has been given a five-day parole by the Gujarat High Court due to the death of his father-in-law. Modhiya, a resident of Dahod district, has been released from Godhra district jail on parole,"Guota told TNIE.
"Bilkis Bano and her family returned to the village only last week, thinking that everything is settled down, but the very day of their return, one convict was seen out of sub jail and 2 days thereafter another one, Modhiya was seen out," Gupta said.
The Supreme Court on January 19 had in its order rejected the petitions filed by all the eleven Bilkis Bano case's convicts seeking more time, beyond January 21, to surrender before the jail authorities, after noting that the pleas "lacked merits."
The Special Bench of the Apex Court, headed by Justice B V Nagarathna and also comprising Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, had passed the order.
The Apex Court in its landmark verdict on January 8, had quashed the Gujarat govt’s August 15, 2022, decision and order to grant remission to 11 convicts, sentenced to life term for the gangrape of Bano and her family members during the 2002 Gujarat communal riots and directed all these 11 convicts to surrender within two weeks in the case by January 21, Sunday.
The Gujarat govt had granted temission of all these 11 convicts on August 15, 2022, following a May 2022 judgment in which the top court held that an application of remission should be considered in line with the policy of the State where the crime was committed and not where the trial was held.
The Gujarat govt's remission to all the 11 convicts of Bilkis and freed them created a huge public outrage and social activist, lawyers, and civil society terming it as "miscarriage of justice."
The name of 11 convicts who were set free by the Gujarat govt are Jaswant Nai, Govindbhai Nai, Shailesh Bhatt, Radhyesham Shah, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Pradeep Modhiya, Bakabhai Vohania, Rajubhai Soni, Mitesh Chamanlal Bhat and Ramesh Rupabhai Chandana.
The court of Justice M R Mengdey on February 5 allowed 'Modhiya parole from February 7 to 11. In his plea, moved on January 31, Modhiya had sought 30-day parole due to his father-in-law's death. The prosecution had pointed to the HC that as per jail records, Modhiya had "reported back on time" when he was last released on parole and that his conduct in jail is also "reported to be good".
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