Bilkis Bano challenged the Supreme Court order allowing the Gujarat government to reconsider the absolution plea of the 11 cons who gang- ravished her.
The Supreme Court has dismissed a review solicitation filed by Bilkis Yakub Rasool, the survivor of 2002 Gujarat screams who had challenged a May order of the apex court allowing the state government to consider the absolution plea of the 11 cons who gang- ravished her, as per a 1992 policy which didn’t bar early release in rape and murder cases.
The order was passed on December 13 by a bench of judges Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath sitting in chambers.
” Refusing authorization sought by Bilkis ’ counsel Shobha Gupta for an open court hail, the bench said, “ In our opinion no case for review is made out. The review solicitation is consequently dismissed. ”
Bilkis had sought review of the May 13 order passed by the top court holding that the Gujarat government will have the power to grant absolution to the said con as per the policy applicable on the date of his conviction.
Radheyshyam and 10 others were condemned on January 21, 2008 and doomed to life imprisonment. The unseasonable release policy prevailing also in Gujarat was of July 9, 1992, that didn’t bar cons of rape and murder to be considered for absolution. Consequently, the state released the 11 persons on August 15. At the time of release, Shyam had completed 15 times and 7 months in guardianship.
This sparked a public outrage, and the decision was challenged in a clutch of desires filed before the Supreme Court by Trinamool Congress( TMC) member of Parliament( MP) Mahua Moitra, former Communist Party of India( CPI) MP Subhashini Ali, intelligencer Revati Laul and professor Roop Rekha Verma. Last month, Bilkis filed a writ solicitation challenging the Gujarat government’s decision. This solicitation was besides her review plea.
On December 13, the date when the review solicitation was listed in chambers, her writ solicitation was heard by a bench of judges Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi.
Bilkis was 21 times old and five months pregnant when she was gang- ravished while fleeing the violence during the 2002 Gujarat screams. Seven persons of her family including her three- time old son were killed during the violence.
In her review solicitation, Bilkis claimed that she being the survivor wasn’t heard by the court due to which she had no information about the decision of the apex court paving way for the early release of the 11 cons. She indicted Radheyshyam, the petitioner who attained the May 13 order of concealing from the court the “ obvious nature of the crime ” for which he was condemned which amounted to playing fraud upon the court.
She further told the court that the con Radheyshyam “ cleverly ” concealed the name of the survivor Bilkis Bano, which came synonymous with the Gujarat screams and failed to inform the top court about an order passed on July 17, 2019 by the Gujarat high court which held that since the trial of the case had been shifted by the Supreme Court from Gujarat to Maharashtra in 2004 and the Mumbai court having condemned the indicted, the Maharashtra government will be competent to decide their plea of absolution and not Gujarat. This order wasn’t challenged by the con, Bilkis contended in her review plea.
SC dismisses Bilkis Bano’s review plea against early release of 11 rapists
