SC to Form Spl Bench to Hear Bilkis Bano’s Plea Against Remission of Sentences of 7 Gang rape Convicts

New Delhi: The Supreme Court decided to constitute a special bench to hear a plea by Bilkis Bano against the remission of sentences of 11 convicts in her gang rape case by the Gujarat government. She was gang raped and seven members of her family were murdered during the 2002 Gujarat riots.

A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala assured Bano’s lawyer Shobha Gupta, that the new bench would be formed for the purpose. “I will have a bench constituted. Will look at it this evening,” the CJI said.

Earlier Gupta had pleaded for an urgent hearing of the matter and said a new bench needed to be constituted.

Besides the plea challenging the release of the convicts, the gang rape survivor has also filed a separate petition seeking a review of the apex court’s May 13, 2022 order on a plea by a convict.