Bilkis Bano loses review in Supreme Court

New Delhi, Dec 17: The Supreme Court has rejected a plea filed by Bilkis Bano, seeking a review of its earlier order by which it had asked the Gujarat government to consider the petitions for remission of sentences of 11 convicts in the gang-rape case.

Bilkis Bano was gang-raped and seven members of her family were killed during the 2002 Gujarat riots.

According to procedures, review pleas against top court judgments are decided in chambers by circulation by the judges who were part of the judgment under review.

The review plea came up for in-chamber consideration on December 13 before a bench of justices Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath, according to news agency PTI.

"I am directed to inform you that the review petition above mentioned filed in Supreme Court was dismissed by the court on December 13, 2022," read a communication sent to Bilkis Bano's counsel Shobha Gupta by the top court's assistant registrar.

The gang-rape survivor had sought a review of the top court's May 13 order on a plea moved by a convict.

The top court had asked the state government to consider the plea for a premature release of the convicts in terms of its policy of July 9, 1992 about deciding a remission petition within a period of two months.

All the 11 convicts were granted remission by the Gujarat government and released on August 15.

On December 14 the Supreme Court issued a stern warning to Bilkis Bano who was challenging the early release of the 11 men who were serving a life sentence. The warning came in the wake of Bano's counsel seeking to set up a new Bench. Here lawyer had raised the request before Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justice P Narasimha. The request came in the wake of Justice Bela Trivedi recusing herself from a Bench which was hearing the case and this meant that the CJI had to set up a new Bench.

It is very irritating, the CJI said while adding that the petition will be listed. He also told the counsel not to keep repeatedly mentioning the same thing again and again.