Bilkis Bano: Supreme Court dismisses plea by 2 convicts

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Synopsis

"How can an Article 32 petition be filed? We can't sit in appeal over an order passed by another bench," the top court said today

The Supreme Court today has dismissed a plea by two of the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case challenging the top court's decision dated January 8 whereby their remission was cancelled.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kumar called the plea before it to be absolutely misconceived as they could not sit in appeal over an order passed by another bench of the top court.

On January 8, 2024, a division bench of the Supreme Court had quashed the Gujarat Government's order granting remission to 11 convicts who had gangraped Bilkis Bano in Gujarat in 2002.

Court further called the impugned orders to be a usurpation of power by the state of Gujarat. Top Court had also refused to accept the plea of liberty made by the 11 convicts and directed them to report to the concerned jails within two weeks.

In October last year, Supreme Court had reserved its judgment in the pleas filed by Bilkis Bano and different PIL petitioners challenging the remission granted to 11 convicts who had gangraped Bano in Gujarat in 2002.

In her petition, Bano stated that she was not even made party respondent by the accused persons in the writ petition concerning remission and that this was the reason that she had absolutely no information of the filing or pendency of the said writ petition or the order passed therein by the Top Court till the writ petitioner and other 10 co-convicts/prisoners were prematurely released on 15.08.2022.

She submitted that the accused persons concealed important documents/ material from the Supreme Court which are very necessary for proper adjudication of the review petition and issue in hand, the present petitioner would therefore be filing an application seeking permission to bring on record additional facts and documents.