The News Freedom
Chandigarh, January 8
The Supreme Court on Monday revoked the release of 11 convicts previously granted remission by the Gujarat government in the infamous Bilkis Bano case. The Supreme Court held the Gujarat government accountable for overstepping its jurisdiction and emphasizing the principle of judicial oversight.
The bench, led by Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan, emphasized that the Gujarat government lacked the legal authority to consider the convicts’ remission plea. The court clarified that the relevant state for assessing such applications is the one where the convicts were sentenced, not where the crime took place or where they were imprisoned. In this case, the court upheld the jurisdiction of Maharashtra, where the horrific ordeal unfolded.
The Supreme Court also identified fraud and suppression of facts surrounding an earlier order directing the Gujarat government to handle the remission based on a specific policy. Consequently, all proceedings stemming from that order were declared invalid.
Criticizing the Gujarat government’s failure to seek reconsideration of the flawed order and its attempt to implement it, the court deemed this action a violation of the rule of law and an abuse of power. Notably, Bilkis Bano, the survivor of the 2002 gangrape and subsequent massacre of 14 family members, including her young daughter, had challenged the remission order, leading to this momentous verdict.