Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Dec 10: The Supreme Court on December 13 will hear a writ petition filed by Bilkis Bano contesting the early release given to 11 individuals found guilty of rape and murder. The case will be heard by a division bench made up of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela Trivedi.
On November 30, the petition was brought up in front of a bench presided over by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud by attorney Shobha Gupta, speaking on behalf of Bilkis.
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Bilkis Bano had filed a writ petition challenging the remission of sentence and the release of 11 convicts in the 2002 gang-rape case who were earlier given life sentences. She asked for a review of the Supreme Court’s order allowing the Gujarat Government to decide whether to commute the convicts’ sentences.
The petition says that Bilkis learned of the shocking news of the early release of every prisoner, who was feted and garlanded in front of the entire nation and the entire world.
The Gujarat government filed an affidavit informing the SC that these 11 convicts were released after serving a 14-year term on good behaviour and with the agreement of the central government in another suit contesting their release, which the SC is currently considering.
The 11 convicts who had been given life sentences in the case were released in August. Following the approval of their appeal for remission of the sentence, the convicts were released under Gujarat’s remission policy.
These individuals were found guilty in 2008 and given life sentences for the rape and murder of the victim’s family members.
Despite the fact that the crime was committed in the State of Gujarat, the Supreme Court ordered in 2004 that the trial be moved from Ahmedabad to a court in Mumbai with the necessary jurisdiction.
