Bilkis Case: Premature Release of 11 Life-term Convicts for Good Behaviour, Guj Govt Tells SC

New Delhi: The premature release of the 11 men convicted for the gangrape of Bilkis Bano during the 2002 Gujarat riots was due to their good behaviour, the Gujarat government told the Supreme Court on Monday. 

In the affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the State government said the Union Home Ministry had approved the remission and premature release of 11 life-term convicts in the Bilkis Bano case. 

Based on the plea filed by activist and CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali against the release of the convicts in Bilkis Bano case, the apex court had issued a notice to the Gujarat government. In its response, the state government also said that on the pretext of PIL, a third-party interference cannot be permitted in a criminal case, Law Today reported. 

The 11 life-term convicts were released under an outdated remission policy which sparked a huge political debate in the country. A special court in Mumbai had handed a lifer to the convicts for the gangrape and the murder of seven members of Bilkis Bano's family during communal riots. 

The victim, Bilkis was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was gangraped. Her three-year-old daughter Saleha was among the seven killed by a mob on March 3, 2002. 

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