Bilkis Bano case: Release of convicts challenged before SC

India

oi-Prakash KL

New
Delhi,
Aug
23:
The
remission
order
of
releasing
convicts
in
Bilkis
Bano
case
has
been
challenged
before
the
Supreme
Court
on
Tuesday.

Advocate
Aparna
Bhat
sought
urgent
listing
of
the
case
on
Wednesday
and
the
CJI
NV
Ramana
agreed
to
look
into
the
matter.

On
asking
if
they
were
granted
remission
by
virtue
of
a
Supreme
Court
order
by
the
CJI,
senior
advocate
Kapil
Sibal
said
that
the
apex
court
gave
a
discretion
to
the
government
to
consider
it.
“The
bench
was
of
Justice
Ajay
Rastogi.
We
are
challenging
the
remission,
not
the
order
of
SC”,
Live
Law
quoted
Sibal
as
saying.

Last
week,
the
11
convicts
walked
out
of
the
Godhra
sub-jail
after
the
Gujarat
government
allowed
their
release
under
its
remission
policy.

‘They
are
Sanskari
brahmins’:
BJP
MLA
defends
release
of
Bilkis
Bano
case
convicts

A
special
Central
Bureau
of
Investigation
(CBI)
court
in
Mumbai
on
January
21,
2008,
sentenced
the
11
accused
to
life
imprisonment
on
the
charge
of
gang
rape
and
murder
of
seven
members
of
Bilkis
Bano’s
family.
Their
conviction
was
later
upheld
by
the
Bombay
High
Court.

The 11 convicts who were granted premature release are Jaswantbhai Nai, Govindbhai Nai, Shailesh Bhatt, Radheshyam Shah, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Pradeep Mordhiya, Bakabhai Vohania, Rajubhai Soni, Mitesh Bhatt, and Ramesh Chandana.

The
convicts
were
released
under
the
Gujarat
government’s
remission
policy
after
they
completed
more
than
15
years
in
jail.

On
March
3,
2002,
Bilkis
Bano’s
family
was
attacked
by
a
mob
at
Randhikpur
village
in
Limkheda
taluka
of
Dahod
district
during
the
post-Godhra
riots.
Bilkis,
who
was
five
months
pregnant
at
that
time,
was
gang-raped
and
seven
members
of
her
family
were
killed.

‘I
am
still
numb’:
Bilkis
Bano
on
release
of
convicts

The
Supreme
Court
had
in
April
2019
directed
the
Gujarat
government
to
give
Rs
50
lakh
compensation,
a
job
and
accommodation
to
Bilkis.