During the 2002 Godhra riots, 11 convicts who gang-raped Bilkis Bano and killed her family members were remitted from prison by the Supreme Court on Friday. The Organisation for Women urged the court to revoke the remission.
It was tagged with the main petition pending before the Supreme Court by a bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and CT Ravikumar. National Federation of India was represented by Annie Raja, whose General Secretary challenged the remission of sentences and the release of convicts.
Earlier, the top court denied remission for 11 convicts by the Gujarat government on November 29.
In its affidavit, the Gujarat government said convicts completed 14 years of prison sentences and had good behavior.
In accordance with the 1992 policy, the State government granted remission to all 11 convicts on August 10, 2022, and the Central government also approved the early release of convicts.
As part of the celebration of “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”, the remission was not granted under the circular that governs prisoner remissions.
Based on all the opinions, the state government decided to release 11 prisoners since they had served 14 years or more in prison and showed good behavior.
During the 2002 Godhra riots, the Gujarat government pardoned 11 convicts for gang-raping Bilkis Bano and murdering her family members.