New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday, heard a batch of petitions challenging the Gujarat government’s order allowing premature release of 11 life convicts in the Bilkis Bano case.
A division bench of Justices KM Joseph and B V Nagarathna intervened in the matter. The Supreme Court described the crime as “horrific”.
Along with this, the court has issued notices to the Center, Gujarat government and the culprits on the petition of Bilkis Bano.
The Supreme Court has asked the Union Home Ministry to keep ready the file related to the permission of the release of the convicts. “It will decide who are the “appropriate authorities” to decide on remission of sentence. The court will decide whether it is Gujarat or Maharashtra.
“The premature release of the convicts is a setback not only to Bilkis, her grown daughters, her family, but to the entire society nationally and internationally,” Bano’s council said in the PIL. They were garlanded and felicitated and sweets were distributed throughout the public glare.