Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Aug 23: The Gujarat government’s decision to grant remission to 11 convicts who had gangraped Bilkis Bano and killed her family members during the 2002 Godhra riots has been contested in a plea filed with the Supreme Court.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal and Advocate Aparna Bhat presented the petition before a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana, Justices Hima Kohli and CT Ravikumar with a plea to hear the case the following day.
“Let us see the papers,” the CJI said but did not pass any order of listing.
Subhasini Ali, a leader of the CPI(M), Revati Laul, an independent journalist and filmmaker, and Roop Rekh Varma, a former philosophy professor and activist, submitted the petition.
Jaswant Nai, Govind Nai, Shailesh Bhatt, Radhyesham Shah, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Pradeep Mordhiya, Bakabhai Vohania, Rajubhai Soni, Mitesh Bhatt, and Ramesh Chandana are the 11 criminals who have been freed.
According to reports, Gujarat Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Raj Kumar stated that the prisoners were freed because they had served “14 years” in prison as well as other considerations including “age, nature of the crime, behaviour in prison, and so on.”
Notably, Bano was gangraped during the riots of 2002, and her three-year-old daughter was one among the twelve persons who were murdered by a mob in the Gujarati district of Dahod’s Limkheda taluka.
