The Supreme Court on Monday, January 8, 2024, quashed the Gujarat government's decision to grant remission to 11 convicts in the case and directed the convicts to surrender before jail authorities within two weeks.
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea filed by the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case for extension of time to surrender after cancellation of their remission by the top court.
With this, all the convicts would have to surrender before jail authorities on January 21 to serve their life term sentences.
A bench Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan found the plea filed the convicts devoid of merits.
"The reasons cited by applicants to seek postponement of surrender and report back to jail have no merit inasmuch as those reasons in no way prevent them from complying with our directions,” the bench said.
By separate applications, the convicts have sought time between four to six weeks to surrender, citing reasons of harvest season and taking care of old parents, among others.
On January 8, 2024, the Supreme Court had quashed the Gujarat government's decision of August 10, 2022 to grant remission to 11 convicts sentenced to life term for the gang rape of Bilkis Bano and killing her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots, for "usurping" the power of Maharashtra government and lacking competence and jurisdiction.
The top court had then directed the convicts to surrender within two weeks.