'Harvest Season, Son's Marriage, Health Issues, Aged Parents' : Reasons Cited By Bilkis Bano Case Convicts For Extension Of Time To Surrender

The Supreme Court will hear today multiple applications filed by the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case seeking an extension of time to surrender before jail authorities. Last week, in a significant development, the Supreme Court set aside the remission orders passed by the Gujarat government allowing the premature release of the 11 convicts sentenced to life imprisonment for multiple murders and gang rapes against the backdrop of the 2002 Gujarat communal riots. 

The life-termers were released early by the State of Gujarat in August 2022 after only serving 14 years of sentence, in terms of a 1992 remission policy. However, a bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan, has now ruled that the State of Gujarat lacked jurisdiction to grant remission in the case as the trial was held in the State of Maharashtra and granted the convicts two weeks time till this Sunday to surrender.

In view of the impending deadline, Senior Advocate V Chitambaresh, appearing for three convicts, mentioned their applications before a bench led by Justice Nagarathna yesterday morning seeking an urgent hearing of the extension pleas. The judge was also informed that more applications would be filed in the course of the day. In response, Justice Nagarathna directed the registry to obtain instructions from Chief Justice DY Chandrachud on the issue of reconstitution of the bench that handed out this verdict and the listing of the applications today. 

A bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan will hear the applications today.