Supreme Court Dismisses Bilkis Bano Convicts’ Plea Against Verdict Cancelling Remission

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday denied to hear a plea of two of the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case challenging the January 8 verdict cancelling their remission.

The Supreme Court also dismissed interim bail petitions filed by Radheyshyam Bhagwandas and Rajubhai Babulal – who were convicted of raping Bilkis Bano and killing her family during the 2002 riots in Gujarat’s Godhra.

Bhagwandas and Babualal had sought temporary release till the top court ruled on a fresh remission plea. They had also challenged the court’s January verdict that cancelled their release by the Gujarat government on Independence Day in 2022.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kumar termed the plea as “absolutely misconceived”.  “What is this plea… how is it even maintainable? Absolutely misconceived… How can we sit on appeal in PIL (public interest litigation),” Justice Sanjiv Khanna said.

“We are not sitting in appeal…” the court ruled.

In the January judgment, the court had been extremely critical of its May 2022 ruling, delivered by Justice Ajay Rastogi (now retired), and said the Gujarat government should have sought its review.

Criticising the Gujarat government, the Supreme Court said it had “usurped” the power of its Maharashtra counterparts to grant remission to the convicts.

Bilkis Bano was 21 years old, and had been pregnant for five months, when she was raped. Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members killed.