SC dismisses Bilkis Bano's review petition challenging Gujarat Government's jurisdiction in release of convicts

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SC dismisses Bilkis Bano’s review petition challenging Gujarat Government’s jurisdiction in release of convicts

The 11 convicts walked out of jail on August 15 after being granted a premature release citing "good behaviour", under a 1992 policy by Gujarat's BJP government with an agreement from the Union Home Ministry.

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December 17, 2022 12:51 IST
SC dismisses Bilkis Bano’s review petition challenging Gujarat Government’s jurisdiction in release of convicts
SC dismisses Bilkis Bano’s review petition challenging Gujarat Government’s jurisdiction in release of convicts

New Delhi: Supreme Court has dismissed Bilkis Bano’s review petition regarding the May 2022 judgment. She sought a review of the judgement that gave the Gujarat Government the jurisdiction to decide over the applications of 11 convicts, who were sentenced to life for gang rape and murders during the 2002 riots.

The 11 convicts walked out of jail on August 15 after being granted a premature release citing “good behaviour”, under a 1992 policy by Gujarat’s BJP government with an agreement from the Union Home Ministry. Bilkis Bano challenged this on the ground that the Gujarat government does not have the right to take a decision as the trial was held in Maharashtra after the SC moved the case on grounds that a fair trial cannot happen in Gujarat.

Supreme Court

As per the latest policy, gangrape and murder convicts cannot be granted early release, but the SC agreed that the 1992 policy applied to these men. This led to a decision which allowed the convicts to walk out after serving nearly 15 years in jail.

Bilkis Bano has also filed another case challenging the grounds of the release, and it is not immediately affected by SC’s decision to dismiss the review petition. The petition was adjourned last week after Justice Bela Trivedi, who is one of the judges, withdrew from the case.

There was a backlash faced by the Gujarat government and SC after the convicts were released. These men were called ‘Sanskari Brahmins’ by a member of the state’s ruling party, and a video of them being welcomed with garlands also surfaced, which led to the backlash. While Bilkis filed petitions regarding the release, one of the convicts campaigned for her daughter, who is now a BJP MLA, in the Gujarat Assembly elections.

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