New Delhi: The Supreme Court said Friday it will hear after three weeks the pleas challenging the remission of sentence and release of 11 convicts in the 2002 Bilkis Bano gang-rape case and murder of her seven family members during the Gujarat riots. The Supreme Court asked the counsel for the Gujarat government to place before it the relevant records within two weeks. The matter came up for hearing before a Supreme Court bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and BV Nagarathna.
The top court had sought responses August 25 from the Centre and the Gujarat government to a petition challenging the remission granted to the 11 convicts in the case. The court had issued notice on a plea filed by CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali, journalist Revathy Laul and activist Roop Rekha Rani. The Supreme Court had asked the petitioners to implead the 11 convicted persons, who have been granted remission, as parties in the matter.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra has also filed a separate plea in the top court challenging the grant of remission. Her petition was also listed for hearing on Friday.
During the hearing, advocate Rishi Malhotra, appearing for one of the 11 convicts, said the petitioners have Thursday filed an application to implead these persons as respondents. “Notices have to go to the impleaded respondents,” he said.
Also read: Bilkis Bano case: SC notice to Gujarat govt on plea against release of 11 convicts
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioners, said they have complied with the apex court’s earlier direction. “Why you have filed an application for adjournment?” the bench asked Malhotra, who said notices have to go to the impleaded respondents and they have to file their replies. He said multiple petitions have been filed in the matter. “I am against this impleadment business in criminal matter,” Malhotra said, while objecting to the locus of the petitioners.
The bench told Malhotra that 11 persons have been impleaded as party respondents in the lead matter and he can accept notices on their behalf. He said he has been appearing for only one of them and he would have to take instructions.
The Supreme Court bench asked when the line and cause of action was the same, why multiple pleas have been filed. One of the advocates, who was appearing for the petitioners in a separate plea filed in the matter, said the prayers in their petition are slightly different.
Bilkis Bano was 21 years old and five-month 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 11 men convicted in the case walked out free from the Godhra sub-jail August 15 after the Gujarat government allowed their release under its remission policy. They had completed more than 15 years in jail.