Supreme Court rejects Gujarat government’s plea to review Bilkis Bano case judgment

On January 8, the top court knocked down the relief the Gujarat government gave to the 11 guys who were convicted to life in link with Bilkis Bano case and ordered them to surrender to prison officers within two weeks.

Plea for Review Dismissed

On Thursday, the Supreme Court dismissed the Gujarat government’s plea seeking a review of its January 8 judgment, which had canceled the remission granted to 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case. The bench, consisting of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan, found no merit in the state’s review petition.

They stated, “Having carefully gone through the Review Petitions, the order under challenge, and the papers annexed therewith, we are satisfied that there is no error apparent on the face of the record or any merit in the Review Petitions, warranting reconsideration of the order impugned. The Review Petitions are, accordingly, dismissed.”

The judgment further directed that any pending applications related to the matter shall also stand disposed of.

Gujarat Government’s Review Plea

The Gujarat government had filed the review petition claiming that the January 8 judgment contained certain unwarranted remarks that had caused “serious prejudice to the State.”

The state objected to what it termed “extreme observations” made by the court in the original ruling, particularly the claim that the government had acted “in tandem” with Radheshyam Bhagwandas Shah, one of the 11 convicts in the case.

Shah had been convicted of the rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Court’s Observations Criticized

The review petition argued that the Supreme Court’s previous judgment had wrongly accused the Gujarat government of “usurpation of power” and “abuse of discretion.”

The state asserted that it was merely complying with a May 13, 2022 order from a Co-ordinate Bench of the Supreme Court, which had designated the Gujarat government as the “Appropriate Government” to decide on the remission request of one of the convicts.

The Gujarat government argued that it had followed the 1992 Remission Policy as per the court’s mandate.

Despite these arguments, the court found no reason to reconsider its earlier ruling and dismissed the review plea.