SC Verdict On Bilkis Bano Convicts' Early Release Today

Bilkis Bano, who was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was gang-raped during the Gujarat riots that erupted after the Godhra train burning incident, will have the Supreme Court pronounce its verdict on Monday. The petitions challenging the remission granted to 11 convicts in the case of her gang rape and the murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots.

The verdict was reserved by a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan on October 12 last year after an 11-day hearing on the pleas, including the one filed by Bilkis Bano. Here are some key takeaways from the Bilkis Bano case:

• Bilkis Bano, who was 21 years old and five months pregnant, experienced gang rape while fleeing the horror of the communal riots that ensued after the Godhra train-burning incident.
• The case trial was moved from Gujarat to Mumbai, and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) handled the investigation.
• In 2008, a special court in Mumbai sentenced 11 individuals to life imprisonment, a decision upheld by the Bombay High Court division bench in 2017.
• On August 15, 2022, remission was granted by the Gujarat government, leading to the release of all 11 convicts.
• During the September hearing last year, the Supreme Court questioned whether convicts possess a fundamental right to seek remission.
• On October 12, while reserving judgment, the top court directed the Centre and the Gujarat government to submit the original records related to the remission of sentence of the 11 convicts by October 16.
• In earlier arguments, the court expressed that state governments should not be selective in granting remission, and the opportunity for reform and reintegration with society should be extended to every prisoner.
• Several PILs, including one by Bano challenging the remission, and petitions by CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali, independent journalist Revati Laul, and former vice-chancellor of Lucknow University Roop Rekha Verma, have challenged the relief.
• Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra filed a PIL against the remission and their premature release.