Bilkis Bano's plea against pre-mature release of 11 convicts will be heard soon, assures SC
New Delhi, February 7: Supreme Court assured Bilkis Bano on Tuesday that her petition against the remission granted to 11 convicts for gang-raping her and murdering her family members during the 2002 Godhra riots would be heard soon.
For Bano's plea, a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala will form a panel soon.
Advocate Shobha Gupta, appearing for Bano, requested an urgent hearing and sought that the CJI form a new bench because Justice Bela M Trivedi had recused herself from hearing the plea.
"I will do so at the earliest. The matter will be listed soon," the CJI assured.
Earlier, a bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi ordered that the matter be heard by the bench, which Justice Trivedi is not a member of because she recused herself from hearing the case.
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Bano had filed a review petition seeking a review of its earlier order in which it had asked the Gujarat government to consider the plea for remission of one of the convicts, in addition to a petition against the premature release of convicts.
The petition for review was denied.
PILs were filed in order to revoke the remission granted to 11 convicts.
The National Federation of Indian Women, whose General Secretary is Annie Raja, the Communist Party of India (MarxistSubhashini )'s Ali, journalist Revati Laul, social activist and professor Roop Rekha Verma, and TMC MP Mahua Moitra filed the petitions.
In its affidavit, the Gujarat government defended the remission given to convicts by noting that they had served a total of 14 years in prison and that their "behaviour was found to be good."
According to the State government, it has taken into account the cases of all 11 convicts in accordance with 1992's policy, and on August 10, 2022, remission was granted. The Central government has also given its approval for the premature release of convicts.
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- ANI
