The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea by Bilkis Bano to review its May judgment which allowed the Gujarat government to consider and release prematurely 11 convicts serving life sentence for gangraping her during the 2002 riots.
A Bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath dismissed Ms. Bano’s review petition by circulation in the chambers.
Her petition had wanted the court to reconsider its judgment which permitted the Gujarat government to apply the State’s Premature Release Policy of 1992 while deciding pleas made by the 11 convicts for early release.
In its May 13 judgment, a Bench led by Justice Ajay Rastogi had concluded that Gujarat was the “appropriate government” under Section 432 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to decide the remission of the convicts in the case.
“Indisputedely, in the instant case, the crime is committed in the State of Gujarat which is the appropriate Government competent to examine the application filed for pre-mature release,” the Supreme Court had observed.
The judgment in May was pronounced in the basis of an application filed by one of the convicts, Radheshyam Bhagwandas Shah @ Lala Vakil, for premature release in terms of its remission policy of July 9, 1992. The 1992 policy was prevalent on the date of conviction.
The Supreme Court had followed a precedent set through an earlier judgment in State of Haryana versus Jagdish, which had held that the policy applicable at the time of conviction must be considered for deciding an application of pre-mature release.
Ms. Bano has argued that the early release of the convicts amounted to a violation of her fundamental right to life. She has said the remission policy of the State of Maharashtra, where the trial happened, and not Gujarat would have governed the case.
A simultaneously filed writ petition by Ms. Bano is yet to be heard by the court. Recently, one of the judges on the Bench before which it was listed, Justice Bela Trivedi, had recused. The writ petition has been referred back to the Chief Justice of India for listing before another Bench.
This story was originally published in thehindu.com. Read the full story here
