Bilkis Bano: Plea filed before Supreme Court against Gujarat government decision to grant remission to 11 life convicts

A petition has been filed before the Supreme Court challenging the decision of the Gujarat government to grant remission to 11 convicts who had gangraped Bilkis Bano and murdered her family members during the 2002 Godhra riots. .The petition was mentioned before a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana, Justices Hima Kohli and CT Ravikumar by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal and Advocate Aparna Bhat with a request to hear the case tomorrow. "Let us see the papers," the CJI said but did not pass any order of listing.The petition was filed by CPI(M) leader Subhasini Ali, independent journalist and filmmaker Revati Laul and former philosophy professor and activist Roop Rekh Varma. .The 11 convicts who have been set free are Jaswant Nai, Govind Nai, Shailesh Bhatt, Radhyesham Shah, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Pradeep Mordhiya, Bakabhai Vohania, Rajubhai Soni, Mitesh Bhatt and Ramesh Chandana.Gujarat Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Raj Kumar reportedly said that the convicts were released due to the “completion of 14 years” in jail and other factors such as “age, nature of the crime, behaviour in prison and so on”..Bano was gangraped during the 2002 riots and her three-year-old-daughter was among twelve people killed by a mob in Limkheda taluka of Dahod district in Gujarat.The Supreme Court had ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the case after Bano approached National Human Rights Commission.When Bano complained of death threats by the accused, the apex court in 2004 directed the trial to be transferred from Godhra in Gujarat to Maharashtra..In January 2008, a Special CBI Court convicted thirteen accused, out of which eleven were sentenced life imprisonment on the charge of gangrape and murder.In May 2017, the conviction order was upheld by the Bombay High Court.In 2019, the Supreme Court also directed the State of Gujarat to provide ₹50 lakh compensation to Bano..A Bench of then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna had also directed the State to provide her with a government job and accommodation.