The matter of releasing the convicts of the Bilkis Bano gangrape case has reached the Supreme Court. Today, advocates Aparna Bhatt and Kapil Sibal, while mentioning the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana, said that it is illegal to release the convicts. After this, the Supreme Court assured a hearing.
Kapil Sibal said that 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang rape case were released. He was also convicted of killing 14 people. On this, the Chief Justice asked whether he was released after the order of the Supreme Court. Sibal said that we are not challenging the order of the Supreme Court but challenging the order on the basis of which they were released.
During this, the Supreme Court was told that a bench headed by Justice Ajay Rastogi had allowed the Gujarat government to apply the law of apology to these convicts as well. It is noteworthy that after the Godhra incident on February 27, 2002, on March 3, the family of Bilkis Bano was attacked by a mob in Randhikpur village, 250 km from Ahmedabad. During this, seven members of his family, including Bilkis's 3-year-old daughter, were murdered. Five months pregnant Bilkis Bano was gang-raped.
The initial investigation of this incident took place in Ahmedabad. The CBI filed its charge sheet on April 19, 2004. Bilkis filed a petition in the Supreme Court expressing apprehension that witnesses could be harmed. On this, the Supreme Court transferred the case to Mumbai on 6 August 2004. The Special Court, in its judgment delivered on January 21, 2008, convicted 11 people. These 11 convicts appealed against their conviction in the Bombay High Court. His sentence was upheld by the Bombay High Court.