Bilkis Bano case: Supreme Court says Gujarat government ‘usurped power’

The government of Gujarat "usurped and abused power" not vested in it when it ordered the release of 11 people convicted for raping Bilkis Bano, the Supreme Court of India said on Monday.

The court today directed the convicts to surrender before the authorities within two weeks.

The Supreme Court, while hearing a clutch of petitions against the Gujarat government's 2022 order, said the state wasn't competent to release the convicts.

The court said only the state where the trial had taken place in this case, Maharashtra has the right to take a call on remission of sentence.

In strongly worded observations, the Supreme Court blamed the Gujarat government for breaching the rule of law.

The court also said that the orders were "stereotyped" and passed without application of mind.

The court said the convicts will have to approach the Maharashtra government for a fresh request seeking remission.

The court ruled that its May 13, 2022, verdict by another bench asking the government to consider remission plea of convicts, was a nullity. The court said the order was secured by fraud.

Setting aside the decision, the bench said: "Compassion and sympathy has no role to play where rule of law is to be enforced. This court must be a beacon in preserving rule of law".

Bilkis Bano was raped during the communal riots in Gujarat. She was 21 and five months pregnant then. Several members of her family were killed, including her three-year-old daughter.