Bilkis Bano Case: Supreme Court Sets 7 August For Final Hearing On Pleas Against Remission To Convicts

The final hearing on the pleas challenging the remission granted to the convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang rape and murder case during the 2002 Gujarat riots has been scheduled for 7 August by the Supreme Court.

The court has completed the pleadings and all the convicts have been served notices either through newspaper publications or directly.

All the parties involved are required by the court to submit short written submissions, a synopsis, and a list of dates.

To ensure that all the convicts receive notices, the Supreme Court directed the publication of notices in local newspapers, including in Gujarati and English. This was done for convicts who could not be served notices, such as one individual whose house was found locked and whose phone was switched off.

All 11 convicts were released on 15 August last year after being granted remission by the Gujarat government.

The remission granted by the Gujarat government faced opposition through various PILs, including those filed by CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali, independent journalist Revati Laul, and former vice-chancellor of the Lucknow University Roop Rekha Verma.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra also filed a PIL against the remission and release.

Bano, who was 21 years old and five months pregnant, experienced the horrifying ordeal of being gang-raped while she was trying to escape the riots that occurred after the Godhra train-burning incident.

Tragically, her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members who lost their lives during the riots.