Yesterday, the bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice BV Nagarathna reserved its verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the early release granted to 11 convicts of the Bilkis Bano gang rape case.

The Court grants permisssion to counsel appearing for Bilkis Bano and the convicts to complete filing copies of the judgments and written submissions.

Justice Nagarathna also emphasized that the court had provided sufficient time for all parties to submit their documents and clarified that no additional documents could be accepted at this point.

Further, the Bench  sked the government of Gujarat to submit original records of files where the decision of remission was taken. 

The court also directed an English translation of the records since the original records are exclusively in Gujarati.

During the Wednesday hearing, Advocate Shobha Gupta, representing Bilkis Bano, opposed the early release granted to the 11 convicts in the case. She conveyed to the Supreme Court that this was not a scenario where the convicts merited leniency and stated, "they should be returned to their place of origin."

In response to the arguments regarding the convicts potentially having undergone reformation during their extended incarceration, Gupta emphasized that this case did not involve a mere gunshot injury or a straightforward murder. 

Gupta argued that the crimes committed by these convicts against Bilkis Bano and her family were barbaric, brutal and gruesome.

Further, she submitted that convicts have a right to be considered for remission upon serving a specified period of their sentence. However, she argued that certain crucial factors were not taken into account by the Gujarat government in this particular case.

While defending the early release granted to the convicts, Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra submitted that the issue of the State being the appropriate authority to decide on remission was settled by the top court through its May 13, 2022 order.

Another counsel representing one of the convicts who had been granted early release in the said matter informed that the compensation awarded to Bilkis Bano by the court was the most substantial amount ever granted in any gang rape case.

Advocate Sonia Mathur informed the court that Bilkis Bano had already received compensation, a government job, and housing as part of her legal entitlements.

Mathur further told the bench that the release on remission granted to the convict was not given as bounty or charity, and that he had ‘earned it’.

Mathur said that her client had been out of jail for a significant period of time and that should not be undone as he had earned it. 

Also read - SC rejects 89-year-old man's plea to divorce 82-year-old wife