The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed the review petitions from the convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang rape case, challenging the cancellation of their early release from prison. This decision also included the dismissal of a similar petition filed by the Gujarat government.
A bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan ruled that both the State and the convicts had no grounds to challenge the court’s January 8 judgment, which annulled the Gujarat government’s decision to grant remission to the eleven convicts.
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The State’s petition focused on adverse remarks made against it in the January ruling. The court stated,” 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,” as quoted by Bar and Bench.
The case involves the early release of 11 men who gang-raped Bano and murdered several of her family members during the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat. The State had granted remission to convicts Jaswant Nai, Govind Nai, Shailesh Bhatt, Radhyesham Shah, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Pradeep Mordhiya, Bakabhai Vohania, Rajubhai Soni, Mitesh Bhatt, and Ramesh Chandana.
In May 2022, the Supreme Court ruled that remission applications should be considered according to the laws of the State where the crime occurred, not where the trial was held. The Gujarat government applied its remission policy despite the trial being conducted in Maharashtra.
On January 8, the Supreme Court quashed the Gujarat government’s decision, stating it lacked the authority to issue the remission order. The appropriate government for such decisions was identified as Maharashtra.
In February, the Gujarat government filed a review petition to challenge the January ruling, seeking to remove comments that suggested it was complicit with the accused. The convicts also filed their own review petitions.
Today, the Supreme Court dismissed all review petitions, upholding its previous ruling in this high-profile case.