CJI-led Supreme Court Bench to consider listing Bilkis Bano plea against remission

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 30

On the eve of first phase of Gujarat elections, Bilkis Bano on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court challenging the remission of sentence of 11 men convicted of raping her and killing her nine family members during the 2002 riots.

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud agreed to consider listing the plea for hearing after advocate Shobha Gupta submitted that the victim herself had challenged the remission and premature release of the convicts awarded life imprisonment. As the CJI said he would consider listing the matter for hearing, Gupta said Justice Ajay Rastogi, who was part of the Bench which had heard other similar pleas against the remission, was now in a Constitution Bench hearing. “The review (petition) has to be heard first. Let it come up before Justice Rastogi,” the CJI said even as Gupta demanded an open court hearing.

“Only the court concerned can decide that (open court hearing of review petitions), the CJI said, adding he would take a call on listing the matter in the evening.

Review petitions are generally heard “in chamber”—and not in an open court—by a procedure called “hearing by circulation” where advocates representing the parties are not allowed to argue. But in exceptional cases, the court allows open court hearing, if convinced about its need.

Bilkis Bano, pregnant at the time of crime, was gang-raped and her three-year-old daughter Saleha and 13 others were killed by a mob on March 3, 2002, in Dahod during violence that broke out in Gujarat after the Sabarmati Express was attacked in Godhra and 59 ‘kar sevaks’ were burnt to death.

The Supreme Court had handed over the probe to the CBI and the trial was shifted to Mumbai where a Sessions Court in 2008 convicted 11 accused of gangrape and murder and awarded life imprisonment to them. Later, the conviction was upheld by the Bombay HC and the SC.

The SC on August 25 issued notice to the Gujarat Government on a petition filed by CPM leader Subhashini Ali, journalist and filmmaker Revati Laul and Prof Roop Rekha Verma challenging the premature release of 11 convicts Bilkis Bano gangrape case on August 15 that sparked widespread outrage. On September 9, a fresh petition was filed by TMC MP Mahua Moitra against the remission. The petition by the victim herself came after the convicts questioned the locus standi of the petitioners.

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