On Thursday, the Supreme Court requested the Gujarat government’s answer to a petition against releasing 11 men found guilty of gangraping Bilkis Bano during the Gujarat riots of 2002.
The petitioners were also ordered to name people who had received remission as parties in the case by the bench led by Chief Justice N V Ramana.
After two weeks, the court also scheduled a hearing on the subject.
Subhashini Ali, a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Mahua Moitra, and another petitioner have each filed three Public Interest Litigations in the Supreme Court to contest the remission and subsequent release of 11 prisoners on Independence Day.
The event developed into a major political crisis when the judge for the special court who found the men guilty also questioned the Gujarat government’s choice.
“Did they question the jurist who presided over the case? I can confirm that I haven’t heard anything about this. In such circumstances, the national government must also provide advise to the state government. Did they carry it out? I am clueless. If so, what was the central government’s response? “In an exclusive interview with NDTV, retired Bombay High Court judge Justice UD Salvi said.
He had also said, “I don’t know whether they went through the surgery or not.
On August 15, after the Gujarat government approved their release under its remission policy, the prisoners left the Godhra sub-jail. They’d spent more than 15 years behind bars.
BJP-affiliated organizations showered the prisoners with gifts, embraces, and flowers as they were received. According to a BJP MLA, the guys were Brahmins with “excellent sanskar” (culture).
Bilkis Bano said that the release of the prisoners had “shaken” her confidence in the legal system and left her “shocked” and “numb.” The family has been distressed to consider taking any legal action.
When Bilkis Bano was gangraped while trying to escape the rioting that had broken out after the fire of the Godhra train, she was 21 years old and five months pregnant. Her three-year-old daughter was one among those who died.
