The Supreme Court rejected a plea seeking a review of an earlier decision by the Gujarat government which cancelled the pardon of 11 men convicted of the 2002 rape and murder of seven members of Bilkis Bano's family amid the violence on Wednesday. A bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan held that there was no defect or merit in the open appeal and dismissed the open appeal.
"Having carefully gone through the Review Petition, the order under challenge and the papers annexed therewith, we are satisfied that there is no error apparent on the face of the record or any merit in the Review Petition, warranting reconsideration of the order impugned. The Review Petition is, accordingly, dismissed," the bench said.
Background of the case
The Gujarat government's plea argued that the court's findings, which condemned the state for "power grabbing" and "abuse of discretion", were unfair. The petition also referred to an earlier judgment delivered in May 2022, which had identified the Gujarat government as the competent authority to decide on granting amnesty to an offender under the 1992 amnesty provision
The state argued that he was wrongly accused of being an "accomplice" of the accused and that such exaggerated allegations caused grave prejudice to Gujarat.
January 8 verdict
On January 8, the Supreme Court ordered the immediate remand of the convicts within two weeks and declared the Gujarat government’s amnesty order illegal. The court said the orders were obtained through "fraud on the court" and highlighted violations of legal norms in granting pardons to convicts.
Context of the Crimes
Bilkis Bano, who was five months pregnant at the time, was raped during violence during the Godhra train burning in February 2002. Her three-year-old daughter was also one of the seven members of the family On August 15, 2022, Gujarat the government has suspended 11 convictions in amnesty, sparking widespread outrage and legal challenges.
