SC Rejects Gujarat’s Plea for Review of Comments in Bilkis Bano Case

The Supreme Court of India dismissed on Thursday a review petition filed by the Gujarat government which had objections with its earlier verdict in the Bilkis Bano case. In another important appeal dealing with the 2002 Gujarat riots, the Supreme Court is moved to examine the observations of the court against the state government while quashing the remission granted to the 11 men convicted of heinous crimes that included the rape of Bilkis Bano and murder of her family members. But the court remained unrepentant in its remarks – a defining moment in the annals of India’s judiciary and one that reminds it of its responsibility to courts to do justice to victims of atrocities.

Case of Bilkis Bano: A Sad Background
Bilkis Bano was a 21-year-old pregnant woman when she suffered unimaginable brutality during the 2002 Gujarat riots. On March 3, 2002, Bano and her family were attacked while trying to escape the rioting that broke out after the Godhra train burning incident. During this attack, Bano was gang-raped, and seven members of her family were brutally killed, including her three-year-old daughter.

In the year 2008, a group of 11 men were given life imprisonment for rape and murder. However, on August 15, 2022, the Gujarat government granted remission to these convicts, and they were set free. This step further opened doors for full-scale resentment and indignation all over the country.

Remission Verdict of Supreme Court
The Supreme Court, on January 8, 2024, revoked the decision of the Gujarat government to grant remission to the convicts. A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan of the court set aside the remission orders given, stating that the 11 convicts be sent back to the prison within two weeks. It stated that the Gujarat government had “usurped” the power of the Maharashtra government in granting remission, which is quite outside its jurisdiction.

In a strict remark, the court observed that the state of Gujarat was “in tandem and complicit with the accused” while granting the remission. In that view, the judgment delivered by the court has acted as a chastisement to safeguard the balance of justice for Bilkis Bano-the notion is that no one can use the instrument of remission to simply run over the rule of law.

Review Petition of Gujarat Government
On January 8, after the verdict, the Gujarat government filed a review petition and assailed some of the observations made by the Supreme Court. According to it, the remarks by the court, particularly accusing the government of “usurpation of power” and “abuse of discretion,” were wholly erroneous and based on no evidence.

The main plea of the Gujarat government is in three points:. First, the state emphasised that a different bench of the Supreme Court had decided in May 2022 that the Gujarat government was the “appropriate government” to consider the remission application of one of the convicts. The state next submitted that no adverse inference could be drawn against it for not filing a review petition against the judgment dated May 2022.

Besides, it submitted that the tribunal’s declaration that it had been operating in collusion with the accused was completely unjustified and prejudicial to the state.
The state further prayed before the tribunal to reconsider its order of 8th January with particular emphasis to those adverse observations that it believed it had been subjected to “severe prejudice” against the Gujarat State.

Supreme Court Dismisses Review Petition
Despite the arguments forwarded by the state government, the Supreme Court had rejected the review petition. The bench headed by Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said they found no error “apparent on the face of the record” that would warrant reconsideration of the earlier order. They held that the review petition had no merit and should not be heard in open court.

We are satisfied that there is no error apparent on the face of the record or any merit in the review petition, warranting reconsideration of the order impugned. The review petition is accordingly dismissed,” the bench further said.
The order rejecting the review plea was an affirmation of the court’s stand in its ruling of January 8, underlining the seriousness of the offense and the impropriety of the remission process adopted by the Gujarat government.

Broader Implication of the Judgment
The broader implication of this judgment is on India’s judicial system itself, keeping into consideration the remission process, which is often usually associated with the settling of convicts long before they have served their full term. The discretionary power in the form of remission is supposed to be exercised so that the authority of the law and judicial principles do not go diluted.

This case, it seems, emphasizes the Supreme Court’s tough stand against the Gujarat government for the misuse of power in remission. The court vindicated its observation that it was a case where the state had acted without jurisdiction and undermined the rule of law, hence cautioning the other states and governments about the limits of power in a criminal case.

Conclusion
Perhaps, nothing would more purely focus the minds of the administrators and the electorates than the Supreme Court dismissing Gujarat’s review petition. The action is a straightforward step in the direction of upholding rule of law and ensuring that judicial apparatus remains fair and even-handed, at least on matters relating to Bilkis Bano-type cases. Here, having rejected the state’s arguments and reaffirming its judgment of January 8, the court has clearly communicated that legal processes are sacred and governments must not transgress their lawful limits.

A ruling like this for Bilkis Bano and her family would prove an unforgettable reminder that justice does prevail against all odds after decades of struggle and adversity. It also goes as an important precedent in law, that if decisions are given which prima facie seem violative of fundamental principles of justice and fairness, then the judiciary will not hesitate to strike it down.

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