Ashish Ranjan
Bilkis Bano case: Monday, the Supreme Court requested a response from the Centre, the Gujarat government, and others regarding a petition against the early release of Bilkis Bano gang-rape convicts.
The bench of Justices K M Joseph and B V Nagarathna stated that there is a wide range of issues at play and that it must hear the case in depth. According to PTI, the apex court ordered the Gujarat government to be ready on April 18 with relevant documents granting pardons to the 11 convicted parties in the case.
The court also stated that it would not be swayed by emotion and would strictly adhere to the law.During the riots on March 3, 2002, in the Limkheda taluka of Gujarat’s Dahod district, Bilkis was gang-raped and her 3-year-old daughter was among the 14 persons killed by a mob. The eleven inmates were liberated on August 15, 2012, one year ago.
Bano had petitioned the supreme court on November 30, 2012, contesting the “premature” release of eleven lifers by the state government, claiming that it “shook the conscience of society.”
A new bench of the Supreme Court was constituted to hear the petitions challenging the early release of the convicts after Bano’s attorney, Shobha Gupta, informed a bench presided over by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on March 22 that Justice Trivedi had recused himself from hearing the case.
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There was no stated reason for Justice Trivedi’s recusal. From 2004 to 2006, she served as law secretary to the Gujarat government.
