Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has also filed a separate plea challenging the grant of remission to the convicts by the Gujarat government.
The Bombay high court has admitted an appeal filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation seeking death penalty for three convicts for the gang rape of Bilkis Bano and murder of her family members in the aftermath of March 2002 Godhra riots.
The Bombay high court has reserved the judgment on the bail pleas of seven convicts in the 2002 Bilkis Bano gang-rape case. All the seven were sentenced to life imprisonment by the trial court in 2008 following which they have filed appeals against the verdict and sought bail pending the disposal of appeals.
Bano is ready for a new beginning and is hoping to see her elder daughter become a lawyer.
The dismissal means the officer will not get benefits entitled to retired government employees.
A state government affidavit said all convicts were granted parole, furlough and even temporary bail at different points during their incarceration, with the highest being for 1,576 days and the lowest 998 days.
'I do this today for myself, for my children, and for women everywhere'
18 people stand convicted in the case.
A bench of Justices S A Bobde and L Nageswara Rao, while rejecting their appeals, said the trial court had unreasonably acquitted them.
Bano was gang-raped and seven members of her family were killed during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Bano had earlier refused to accept the offer of Rs 5 lakh and had sought exemplary compensation from the state government in a plea before the top court.
In the manifesto released on Saturday, the Congress also promised unemployment allowance of Rs 3,000 per month, Rs 2,000 pension to divyangs, widows, senior citizens and needy women, and waiver of loans of up to Rs 3 lakh of all fishermen, among other things.
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Centre and the Gujarat government to submit by October 16 the original records related to the remission of sentence of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case and murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
'All the convicts must be either hanged for or they must be kept behind bars for the remainder of their lives. Only then justice will be served'
The 11 convicts in the case of gang-rape of Bilkis Bano and murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat can approach the Maharashtra government with request for remission of their sentences.
"When an authority does not have the jurisdiction to deal with a matter or it is not within the powers of the authority i.e. the State of Gujarat in the instant case, to be the appropriate Government to pass orders of remission under Section 432 of the CrPC, the orders of remission would have no legs to stand," it added.
Commencing arguments on the plea challenging the remission granted last year to all the 11 convicts, advocate Shobha Gupta, appearing for Bilkis Bano, submitted she was brutally gang-raped while she was pregnant and her first child was smashed with a rock to death.
A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Prashant Kumar Mishra noted, in accordance with its May 9 order, notices have been published in local newspapers, including those in Gujarati and English, against the convicts who could not be served (the notice).
"Public outcry will not affect our judicial decisions," the Supreme Court asserted on Tuesday, as it began weighing the legality of the remission granted to all the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case and murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
The Supreme Court on Monday fixed August 7 for the start of the final hearing on a batch of pleas challenging the remission granted last year to all the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case and murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
The review plea filed by Ramesh Rupabhai Chandana said the top court erred while passing the impugned order and overruling judgment dated May 13, 2022, passed by another bench of the apex court.
Police have detained social activist Sandeep Pandey and three others ahead of a foot march planned on Monday to express solidarity with Bilkis Bano, who was gang-raped and seven of her family members murdered during the 2002 Gujarat riots, police said.
The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the trial proceedings in the Bilkis Yakub Rasool gangrape case till August 2, pending a decision on the victim's plea for transfer of the trial from Gujarat to Maharashtra.
Diwali celebrations have started in the United States from the iconic Times Square in New York, with the United States Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump celebrating the festival of lights at their residences on Friday.
A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan also rejected the application for listing review petition in open court.
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said the reasons cited by the convicts have no merits.
The top court on January 8 had quashed the Gujarat government's decision to grant remission to 11 convicts in the case, saying the orders were 'stereotyped' and passed without application of mind.
"Those who raped a five-month pregnant woman and killed her three-year-old daughter were released during 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav'. What message is being given to the women of the country by those who peddle lies about 'Nari Shakti'?
A day after he and 10 others were released from jail in the case related to the gang rape of Bilkis Bano and murder of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots, convict Shailesh Bhatt claimed that they were 'victims of politics'.
All the 11 life term convicts in the Bilkis Bano case of the 2002 riots were released as per the remission policy prevalent in Gujarat at the time of their conviction in 2008, a top government official said on Tuesday and rejected claims of contravention of the Centre's guidelines in the matter.
The top court said the faith of people in the efficacy of law is the saviour and succour for the sustenance of the rule of law.
'She had the courage to not cow down before the entire law and order apparatus, to remain sane and human despite inhuman suffering meted out to her and her family.'
The Supreme Court will hear on March 27 a batch of pleas challenging the remission of sentence of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case that also involves the killing of seven members of her family during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Bilkis, whose cross-examination was concluded on Thursday, had earlier identified in the court the 12 accused.
Singhvi said when the release was ordered on August 15, the Modi government maintained a studied and deliberate silence on freeing the criminals, an action which has drawn legitimate criticism the world over and "exposed our system to widespread shame and ridicule".
Bilkis will depose before special judge U D Salvi in an in-camera trial.
"I have read only the Quran Sharif and I have never been to school but today I feel excited and happy. I congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi for also being included in this list. He is also my son. So what if I did not give birth to him, my sister has given birth to him. I pray for his long life and happiness," Bilkis Bano said.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred till July 11 the hearing on a batch of pleas challenging the remission granted last year to all the 11 convicts in the case of gang rape of Bilkis Bano and murder of her family members during the 2002 post-Godhra riots.
Actor Khushbu Sundar's tweet against the release of men involved in rape has set off a series of reactions and debate and her party the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday maintained that the release of 11 convicts by Gujarat in the Bilkis Bano case was as per law and there was absolutely no politics involved.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred to May 9 the hearing on a batch of pleas challenging the remission granted to the 11 convicts last year in the case of gangrape of Bilkis Bano and murder of her family members during the 2002 post-Godhra riots.
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