The Supreme Court has dismissed the review petition filed by Bilkis Bano against the May 13 judgment that held that the State of Gujarat was the “appropriate Government” competent to examine the application for the pre-mature release filed by a convict in the gangrape and murder case.
The Supreme Court has dismissed the review petition filed by Bilkis Bano against the May 13 judgment that held that the State of Gujarat was the “appropriate Government” competent to examine the application for the pre-mature release filed by a convict in the gangrape and murder case.
The separate writ petitions filed by Bano and many others like CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali and TMC MP Mauha Moitra against the remission of the accused persons is, however, pending before the apex court.
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The order was passed by a bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath on December 13, but uploaded on the apex court’s website on Saturday. In its May 13 order, the apex court had asked the State Government to consider the plea of a convict for pre-mature release in terms of its policy of July 9, 1992, which was applicable on the date of conviction, and decide it within a period of two months.
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Bano’s separate petition challenging the remission of the sentences of the 11 convicts by the State Government is pending before the Supreme Court.
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Bano’s revision plea against the top court’s May 13 judgment contended that the remission policy of State of Maharashtra should apply in the present case, instead of 1992 remission policy of Gujarat since the trial in the case had happened in Maharashtra. The top court had on, May 13, ruled that remission of the convicts in the case should be considered as per the policy existing at the time of conviction in the State where the crime was actually committed.
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The top court’s judgment came on a petition filed by one of the convicts, Radheshyam Bhagwandas Shah, seeking direction to the State of Gujarat to consider his application for premature release under the policy dated July 9, 1992 which was existing at the time of his conviction.
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The Supreme Court in its May 13 verdict said that the crime was admittedly committed in Gujarat and ordinarily the trial was to be concluded in the same State and in terms of Section 432(7) CrPC, the appropriate government in the ordinary course would be the Gujarat government. Pursuant to the May 13 judgment of the top court, the Gujarat Government had granted remission to 11 convicts who had gangraped and murdered Bano’s family members during the riots. Though the trial court and CBI objected the remission, Gujarat Government and Union Home Ministry supported the early release.
Source: Daily Pioneer
