SC to pronounce verdict on the premature release of convicts in Bilkis Bano case

Supreme Court to pronounce judgment on petitions challenging Gujarat's decision to prematurely release 11 men sentenced to life for 2002 gang rape & murder.

A Supreme Court Bench headed by Justice B.V. Nagarathna is scheduled on January 8 to pronounce its judgment on petitions challenging Gujarat government’s decision to prematurely release 11 men sentenced to life for the gang rape of Bilks Bano and murder of her family during the 2002 riots.

The Bench, also comprising Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, had reserved the case for judgment in October 2023. The court had heard writ petitions separately filed by Ms. Bano and others, including Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Subhashini Ali and Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra.

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The arguments primarily focused on whether the State had followed uniform standards while granting early remission to the 11 men when murder convicts tend to otherwise languish in prison for years.

Ms. Bano’s lawyer, advocate Shobha Gupta, had submitted that the convicts did not deserve remission for the heinous nature of their crimes.

She had also challenged the jurisdiction of Gujarat, arguing that the trial happened in Maharashtra, and the State government there was the competent authority to decide on the issue of remission.

Ms. Gupta had referred to Section 432(7)(b) which said the “appropriate government” would be the “State within which the offender is sentenced”.