In her petition, the complainant challenged the premature release of 11 convicts in her gangrape and murder of family members in 2002 Gujarat riots.
File Photo: Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would constitute a special bench to hear a plea by Bilkis Bano challenging the premature release of 11 convicts in her gangrape and murder of her seven-family member including her three-year old daughter during 2002 Gujarat riots.
Heading a bench also comprising Justice P S Narasimha and Justice J B Pardiwala, Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said a special bench will be constituted to hear Bilkis plea upon a mentioning by her lawyer Shobha Gupta.
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Earlier on January 24, the hearing on Bilkis plea against the premature release of 11 convicts could not take place as the judges who are seized her plea were part of a five-judge constitution bench that was hearing the matter relating to passive euthanasia.
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On February 7, the Supreme Court had said that there will be an early hearing of Bilkis Bano’s -plea.
In its May 13, 2022 order, the Supreme Court had directed the Gujarat Government to consider the plea of a convict for premature release in terms of the State government’s policy of July 9, 1992 which was applicable on the date of their conviction and decide it within two months.
Bilkis plea seeking the recall of the May 13 order paving the way for the release of 11 convicts was dismissed by the Court in December last year.
Prior to Bilkis, General Secretary, National Federation of Indian Women, Annie Raja, Member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Subhashini Ali, journalist Revati Laul, social activist and professor Roop Rekha Verma and TMC MP Mahua Moitra had approached the top court seeking revocation of pre-mature order.
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