SC rejects Gujarat govt's plea to remove allegations in Bilkis Bano case
PTC News Desk: In a major blow for the Gujarat government, the Supreme Court denied a petition to remove allegations against the state in the Bilkis Bano case.
The Supreme Court ruled that the Gujarat government's plea to remove key points from its decision was baseless. The court had previously stated that Gujarat had acted "in concert" with individual inmates who highlighted systemic concerns in the riots.
The Gujarat government petition also cited the court's statement that it had "acted in collusion and colluded with the convicts". The state government maintained that the comment was erroneous against the record of the case, and biased against the petitioner.
However, a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan disagreed.
"Having carefully gone through the Review Petitions, the order under challenge and the papers annexed therewith, we are satisfied that there is no error apparent on the face of the record or any merit in the Review Petitions, warranting reconsideration of the order impugned..."
In July, the Supreme Court dismissed interim bail petitions submitted by Radheyshyam Bhagwandas and Rajubhai Babulal, both inmates. They said a "anomalous" situation had evolved, in which two separate benches of the Supreme Court held opposing views on the state's early release policy.
The judge, however, rejected that plea.
The Supreme Court ruled in January that the 11 men who had been released by the Gujarat government for "good behaviour" had to return to jail. The state government was not competent to release the men, the Supreme Court ruled in a landmark ruling.
- PTC NEWS
