Bilkis Bano, who was gang-raped and seven members of her family
slaughtered during the 2002 Gujarat riots, Wednesday moved the Supreme
Court challenging the remission of sentence of 11 convicts in the case by the
state government, saying their premature release has "shaken the
conscience of society".
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.
The top court had asked the state government to
consider the plea for premature release of the convicts in terms of its policy
of July 9, 1992 about deciding a remission petition within a period of two
months.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and
Justice P S Narasimha was urged by the counsel for Bano that her two separate
pleas, one challenging the remission and the other seeking a review of the apex
court's direction, be listed for urgent hearing.
The top court took note of the submission by lawyer
Shobha Gupta that Justice Ajay Rastogi, who was part of the bench which had
heard other similar pleas against the remission, was now part of a Constitution
bench hearing.
"The review has to be heard first. Let it come
before Justice Rastogi, the CJI said.
The counsel for Bano suggested that the review plea,
which as per the apex court rules are decided in chambers by the judges
concerned, be heard in an open court.
"Only the court concerned can decide that (open
court hearing), the CJI said, adding he will take a call on the listing of both
the matters in the evening.
Bano, in her plea against the grant of remission which
had led to the release of the convicts on August 15, said the state government
passed a mechanical order completely ignoring the requirement of law as laid
down by the Supreme Court.
The enmasse premature release of the convicts in the
much talked about case of Bilkis Bano, has shaken the conscience of the society
and resulted in a number of agitations across the country, she said in the
plea.
Referring to past verdicts, the plea said enmasse
remissions are not permissible and moreover, such a relief cannot be sought or
granted as a matter of right without examining the case of each convict
individually based on their peculiar facts and role played by them in the
crime.
The present writ petition challenging the decision of
the State/ Central Government granting remission to all the 11 convicts and
releasing them prematurely in one of the most gruesome crimes of extreme
inhuman violence and brutality by a group of human beings upon another group of
human beings, all helpless and innocent people - most of them were either women
or minors, by chasing them for days together persuaded by hate towards a
particular community, it said.
The plea, which gave minute details of the crime, said
Bano and her grown up daughters were shell-shocked with this sudden
development.
The decision of the government came as a shock to the
citizens, nationally and internationally, and the society across segments
showed anger, disappointment, distrust and protested the clemency shown by the
government.
When the nation was celebrating its 76th Independence
Day, all the convicts were released prematurely and were garlanded and
felicitated in full public glare and sweets were circulated and this is how the
present petitioner alongwith the entire nation and the whole world came to know
about the shocking news of premature release of all the convicts (respondents
no. 3-13) of one of the most gruesome crime this country has ever seen of
multiple time gang rape of a pregnant woman, it said.
It referred to wide-virtual public protest in each
city, on all social media platforms and news channels, portals.
It was also reported heavily that Muslims of the area
started fleeing away from Rahimabad in fear after release of these 11 convicts,
the plea said.
The separate review plea said Bilkis Bano was not made
a party to the petition by a convict who along with others was released under
the state's remission policy which is not in force.
In view of the development that the policy dated July
09, 1992 stood canceled vide circular dated May 08, 2003 of State of Gujarat,
it was necessary to be examined whether still the policy dated 09.07.1992 would
be the relevant policy for remission application of the convicts to be
considered, if at all the State of Gujarat is the appropriate Government under
section 432 CrPC, the review plea said.
The top court is already seized of PILs filed by
CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali, Revati Laul, an independent journalist, and Roop
Rekha Verma, who is a former vice chancellor of the Lucknow University, and TMC
MP Mahua Moitra against the release of the convicts.
Bilkis Bano was 21 years old and five months pregnant
when she was gang-raped while fleeing the riots that broke out after the Godhra
train burning incident. Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family
members killed.
The investigation in the case was handed over to the
CBI and the trial was transferred to a Maharashtra court by the Supreme
Court.
A special CBI court in Mumbai had on January 21, 2008
sentenced the 11 to life imprisonment on charges of gang-rape of Bilkis Bano
and murder of seven members of her family.
Their conviction was later upheld by the Bombay High
Court and the Supreme Court.
The 11 men convicted in the case walked out of the
Godhra sub-jail on August 15 after the Gujarat government allowed their release
under its remission policy. They had completed more than 15 years in jail.