A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kumar termed the plea as "absolutely misconceived" and said how can it sit in appeal over an order passed by another bench of the apex court.
'I learnt today that Bilkis Bano had to change her house after these people were released as some of them lived in her vicinity.' 'This was an injustice to her, she had to do this under duress.'
Women's organisations in Bengaluru, New Delhi and Mumbai protested against the Gujarat government's remission of the sentence to convicts in the Bilkis Bano case/
The 11 convicts are Bakabhai Vohania, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Govind Nai, Jaswant Nai, Mitesh Bhatt, Pradeep Mordhiya, Radheshyam Shah, Rajubhai Soni, Ramesh Chandana and Shailesh Bhatt.
There are some convicts who are "more privileged", the Supreme Court said on Thursday while hearing pleas challenging the grant of remissions to 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case and the murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Convict Pradip Modhiya, a resident of Dahod district, has been released from Godhra district jail on parole due to the death of his father-in-law.
He was also seen standing next to Jaswant Bhabhor, a former Union minister of state for tribal affairs, in a photo shared by the Dahod district information department.
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan had on October 12 last year reserved its verdict after an 11-day hearing on the petitions, including the one filed by Bano.
The Supreme Court on Monday held as maintainable the PIL filed by Bilkis Bano, who was gang-raped while seven of her family members were killed during the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat, against the state government's decision to grant remission to 11 convicts in the case.
The Supreme Court on Monday quashed the Gujarat government's decision to grant remission to 11 convicts in the case of gangrape of Bilkis Bano and murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 riots in the state, saying the orders were "stereotyped" and passed without application of mind.
The comments were made in Rokhthok column of the Sena mouthpiece Saamana which carried the Kadaknath Mumbaikar byline and not of the Marathi daily's executive editor Sanjay Raut.
Justice Rastogi said now that the victim has approached this court challenging the remission to convicts, her plea will be taken as a lead matter. The rest of the petitions will be tagged along with her plea when the bench will sit with a different combination of judges, Justice Rastogi said.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to resume hearing on Thursday a clutch of petitions challenging the remission granted to all 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case and murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
The hearing on Bilkis Bano's plea challenging the remission of sentence of 11 convicts in the gang-rape case by the Gujarat government, could not be held in the Supreme Court on Tuesday as the judges concerned were hearing a matter related to passive euthanasia as part of a five-judge Constitution bench.
The Gujarat government was "complicit and acted in tandem with one of the convicts", the SC said.
"Law is supposed to be a noble profession," the Supreme Court observed on Thursday, and voiced surprise over how can one of the convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case and murder of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots practise law after his conviction, the remission of his sentence notwithstanding.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to constitute a special bench to hear a plea against the remission of sentence of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case, which also involves the killing of seven members of her family during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Eleven convicts walked out of Godhra sub-jail after the Gujarat government allowed their release on August 15 this year.
"Why are our jails overcrowded? Why is the the policy of remission being applied selectively?"
In a statement issued through her lawyer Shobha Gupta, Bano thanked the top court for the verdict and said, "Today is truly the New Year for me." "I have wept tears of relief. I have smiled for the first time in over a year and half. I have hugged my children. It feels like a stone the size of a mountain has been lifted from my chest, and I can breathe again," Bano said.
C K Raulji, the BJP MLA from Godhra, said he does not know whether the convicts, released after spending more than 15 years in jail, were involved in the crime.
'We are scared. Several people have left the village out of fear of violence from the side of the convicts after their release'
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala assured Bano, represented through her lawyer Shobha Gupta, that the new bench will be formed at the earliest.
The Supreme Court on Thursday sought responses from the Centre and the Gujarat government on a plea challenging the remission granted to 11 life convicts in the case of Bilkis Bano's gangrape and murder of her family members.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and Dipankar Datta took note of the submissions of lawyer Shobha Gupta that the review plea is yet to be listed.
Bilkis Bano, a survivor of the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat, on Wednesday said the premature release of all the 11 convicts serving a life sentence in a case related to her and seven family members, has shaken faith in justice and left her numb.
Demanding that the remission must be revoked, the citizens noted that the early release of these murderers and rapists only strengthens the impunity of all men who commit rape and other acts of violence against women.
Actor-politician Kangana Ranaut was granted bail in a defamation case in Bathinda, Punjab, after expressing regret for a 'misunderstanding' arising from a social media post. The case stems from a retweet concerning Mahinder Kaur, a complainant from Punjab, during the farmers' protest.
The examination-in-chief of Bilkis Bano is almost over and the cross-examination is expected to begin on Wednesday.
'We are aghast at what happened in Gujarat a few days ago, on the 75th anniversary of India's Independence'
Supreme Court judge Bela M Trivedi on Tuesday recused herself from hearing a plea filed by Bilkis Bano, who was gang-raped and seven members of her family killed during the 2002 Gujarat riots, challenging the remission of sentence of 11 convicts in the case by the state government.
The 11 convicts on Monday walked out of the Godhra sub-jail after the Gujarat government allowed their release under its remission policy.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to consider listing a plea challenging the grant of remission by the Gujarat government to 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has also filed a separate plea challenging the grant of remission to the convicts by the Gujarat government.
Bilkis Bano on Wednesday challenged the remission of sentence and release of convicts in the 2002 rape and murder case filing a plea before the Supreme Court.
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.
Bilkis Bano was gangraped in March, 2002, while she was pregnant.
Vijay, despite the loud message from his delayed arrival at the road-show/stampede venue, and more so his continued inaccessibility for fans-turned-cadres after graduating from a super-star to a political party leader with electoral ambitions, refuses to change. Or, so it seems, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'I do this today for myself, for my children, and for women everywhere'
Six police officers have been charged with shielding the guilty, while a doctor couple, Arun Kumar and Sangeeta Prasad, are accused of destroying evidence.
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