Bilkis Bano case: Supreme Court to hear plea challenging release of convicts on Friday

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the plea challenging the release of convicts in the Bilkis Bano case on Friday, September 9.

According to the cause list, a bench of Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice BV Nagarathna will hear the case. A three-judge bench led by former CJI Ramana had on 25th August issued notice in the case. The court had directed all convicts who have been released to be made party to the case.

The 11 convicts who were sentenced to life imprisonment in the case were released last month. The convicts were set free under Gujarat’s remission policy after their application for remission of the sentence was allowed.

These persons were convicted in 2008 and sentenced to life imprisonment for offences of rape and murder of her family members. Even though the crime was committed in the State of Gujarat, the Supreme Court in 2004 directed the transfer of the trial from Ahmedabad to a competent court in Mumbai.

One of the convicts in the case had moved the Supreme Court of India seeking directions to the State of Gujarat to consider his application for pre¬mature release under the policy dated July 9, 1992 which was existing at the time of his conviction.

A bench headed by Justice Ajay Rastogi in May 2022 held that once the crime was committed in Gujarat, after the trial was concluded and judgment of conviction came to be passed, all further proceedings including remission or pre¬mature release, have to be considered in terms of the policy which is applicable in the State of Gujarat.

The apex Court had, therefore, directed the Gujarat government to consider the application of one of the convicts for pre¬mature release in terms of its policy dated July 9, 1992, which is applicable on the date of conviction and to be decided within a period of two months.