The Supreme Court has dismissed the petition of two convicts in the Bilkis Bano case, Radheshyam Bhagwan Das and Rajubhai Babulal, seeking interim bail until the Gujarat government decides on their new demand for release. The court questioned the legitimacy of the petition and refused to hear it.
This development comes after the Supreme Court’s January 8 order cancelling the Gujarat government’s decision to release 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case and directing them to surrender. The convicts had earlier challenged the order, seeking clarity on which state government’s release policy would apply, given the conflicting decisions of two different Supreme Court benches.
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The Bilkis Bano case is a prominent one, dating back to 2002, when a mob raped Bilkis Bano, then five months pregnant, and killed seven members of her family during the Gujarat riots. The case was transferred from Ahmedabad to Bombay, and in 2008, the CBI Special Court sentenced 11 convicts to life imprisonment. The Bombay High Court upheld the life sentence in 2017.
The Supreme Court’s January 8 decision had ordered the convicts to surrender within two weeks, and the latest rejection of the bail plea comes as a setback for the convicts. The case has drawn widespread attention and outrage, with many advocating for justice for Bilkis Bano and her family.
