New Delhi, Jan 18 (UNI): The Supreme Court will hear the plea of three convicts of the Bilkis Bano case on Friday who have sought an extension of time to surrender.
After hearing senior advocate V Chitambaresh, who mentioned that the time to surrender expires on January 21, a bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan agreed to hear the plea on Friday.
The matter pertains to a judgment of the Apex Court in which it had quashed the remission granted to 11 convicts of the Bilkis Bano gang rape case by the Gujarat government saying that it did not have the power to apply the remission policy on these eleven convicts as their trial was conducted in Maharashtra.
The remission could have been granted by the Maharashtra Government only, as the trial was conducted there.
Supreme Court bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan on January 8 had quashed the remission granted to them by the Gujarat government and asked the 11 convicts to surrender by January 21.
The Gujarat government had applied its remission policy to release the 11 convicts though the trial in the case had taken place in Maharashtra.
The Gujarat government’s decision was challenged by various petitioners including Bilkis Bano before the top court. It, therefore, directed all eleven to surrender within two weeks.
Three convicts including one Govindhbhai Nai, have moved the Supreme Court today seeking four weeks to surrender before the concerned jail authorities. Nai has cited ill health as well as domestic responsibilities to seek an extension of time to surrender.
As per the plea, Nai’s father is bedridden and dependent on him. He has further submitted that he had to undergo an angiography recently and is yet to undergo another operation for the treatment of hemorrhoids’.
Convict Ramesh Rupabhai Chandana has also sought an extension for another six weeks claiming he has to get his son married and fulfill the responsibility. Convict Mitesh Chimanlal Bhat has sought a six week’s extension stating his winter produce is ready for harvest and he would prefer to complete the process and then surrender.
