The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Center and the Gujarat government to file their replies on a plea challenging the release of 11 life-imprisonment convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang rape and murder of his family members. The release of 11 convicts from the Godhra sub-jail on August 15 this year as part of the Gujarat government’s amnesty policy has triggered a debate on the issue of such relief in heinous cases.
It is noteworthy that on March 3, 2002, 14 people were killed by a mob in Dahod during the violence that erupted in Gujarat after the Godhra attack on the Sabarmati Express and the burning of 59 passengers, mainly ‘kar sevaks’. Bilkis Bano’s three-year-old daughter Saleha was also among those killed. Bilkis Bano was pregnant at the time of the incident and was a victim of gang rape. In this case, 11 people were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
These convicts had served more than 15 years of imprisonment after which one of the convicts had approached the Supreme Court for their premature release. On this, the top court had directed the Gujarat government to consider the matter.