The Supreme Court in India has postponed the hearing of a group of petitions challenging the release of the 11 men convicted for the gang-rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of her family during the 2002 Gujarat riots. The hearing has been rescheduled for the second week of July, after the Centre and the Gujarat government agreed to produce documents regarding the release of the convicts. The court has asked for objective standards for the grant of remission, and stated that if the government does not show its reasons, the court will draw its own conclusions.
Like you cannot compare apples with oranges, similarly massacre cannot be compared with single murder… Today it is Bilkis but tomorrow it can be anyone. It may be you or me,” the court had said.
Bilkis Bano had approached the Supreme Court in November last year challenging what she called “premature” release of the 11 convicts by the Gujarat government. The remission of their sentence has “shaken the conscience of society”, she had said in her petition. The Bilkis Bano case involves the gang-rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots. In March, the Supreme Court had expressed concern over the release of 11 convicts in the case and asked the Gujarat government whether it had applied uniform standards while granting remission to the convicts. Bilkis Bano had approached the Supreme Court challenging the release of the convicts, which she called “premature”. The hearing of a clutch of petitions challenging the release of the convicts was postponed and will take place in the second week of July after the Centre and the Gujarat government agreed to produce the documents regarding the release of the convicts.
