SC Junks Convicts' Bail Pleas in Bilkis Bano Case. Here's What Apex Court Said

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed interim bail petitions filed by Radheyshyam Bhagwandas and Rajubhai Babulal, convicted of raping Bilkis Bano and killing her family during the 2002 Gujarat riots.

The men sought temporary release pending a ruling on a new remission plea, challenging the court's January verdict that canceled their release by the Gujarat government on Independence Day in 2022.

In March, Bhagwandas and Babulal contended that the January verdict contradicted a 2002 order by the Constitution bench, creating an "anomalous" situation with two Supreme Court benches of the same strength taking opposite views on the state government's early release policy.

The plea argued, "... if this is permitted then it would lead not only to judicial impropriety but to uncertainty and chaos as to which precedence (sic) of law has to be applied in future," warning that the January 8 verdict could be used as legal precedent.

The Supreme Court, led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna, dismissed the plea as "absolutely misconceived," stating, "What is this plea... how is it even maintainable?"

Justice Khanna said, "There are two judgments... earlier judgment (the May ruling) was considered in the second (the January verdict) ... under Article 32 (which gives every individual the right to move the Supreme Court for enforcement of fundamental rights)... We are not sitting in appeal..."

The January judgment criticised the May 2022 ruling by retired Justice Ajay Rastogi, stating that the Gujarat government should have sought a review.

The court noted that the release had been ordered based on a 1992 remission policy superseded by a 2014 law and sent the 11 convicts back to jail.

The Supreme Court accused the Gujarat government of overstepping its authority, stating it had "usurped" the power of Maharashtra authorities to grant remission to the convicts.

Bilkis Bano, 21 and five months pregnant at the time, was raped, and her three-year-old daughter was among seven family members killed during the 2002 Gujarat riots.