SC dismisses Bilkis Bano's plea seeking review of its earlier order

The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea filed by Bilkis Bano, seeking a review of its earlier order by which it had asked the Gujarat government to consider the petitions for remission of sentences of 11 convicts in the gang-rape case.

Bano was gang-raped and seven members of her family were killed during the 2002 Gujarat riots.

According to procedures, review pleas against apex court judgments are decided in chambers by circulation by the judges who were part of the judgment under review.

The review plea came up for in-chamber consideration on December 13 before a bench of justices Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath.

“I am directed to inform you that the review petition above mentioned filed in Supreme Court was dismissed by the court on December 13, 2022,” read a communication sent to Bano’s counsel Shobha Gupta by the apex court’s assistant registrar.

The gang-rape survivor had sought a review of the top court’s May 13 order on a plea moved by a convict.

The top court had asked the state government to consider the plea for a premature release of the convicts in terms of its policy of July 9, 1992 about deciding a remission petition within a period of two months.

All the 11 convicts were granted remission by the Gujarat government and released on August 15.