SC To Hear Pleas Amid Demand To Send Bilkis’ Rapists Back To Jail

New Delhi: A bench led by Chief Justice of India N V Ramana, who is set to retire on Friday, will on Thursday hear the pleas filed by lawmakers and women’s rights activities,  challenging the grant of remission by the Gujarat government to 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case.

The outgoing CJI is expected to take a call on an immediate course of action in this case while leaving for future benches the final orders, media reports said.

On Tuesday, CJI Ramana took note of the submissions of senior advocate Kapil Sibal and lawyer Aparna Bhat against the grant of remission and consequent release of the convicts, who were sentenced to a life term in 2008 for raping Bilkis Bano while she was several months pregnant and murdering seven members of her family during the 2002 Gujarat riots, and agreed to consider an urgent hearing.

The 11 walked out of jail on August 15 after the Gujarat government cleared their early release under the state’s 1992 remission policy.

The pleas have been filed by CPI(M) Politburo member Subhashini Ali, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, and women’s rights activists.