New Delhi | Bilkis Bano has moved the Supreme Court against the acquittal of 11 people convicted of gang rape and murder in the 2002 Gujarat riots. Advocate Shobha Gupta, representing Bano, urged Chief Justice D.Y. Placed the matter before a bench headed by Chandrachud. Gupta argued that there is little chance that a bench headed by Justice Ajay Rastogi will be able to hear the matter, as he is now part of a constitution bench hearing.
Bano had filed a review petition against the apex court’s decision allowing the Gujarat government to decide on the punishment for the convicts.
The Chief Justice said the review has to be heard first and let it come before Justice Rastogi. Gupta said that the matter should be heard in an open court. The Chief Justice said that only the court can decide and added that he would decide on the listing after going through the matter in the evening.
In May this year, the apex court ruled that the Gujarat government can consider the pardon request as the crime took place in Gujarat. Based on this decision, the Gujarat government decided to release all 11 convicts.
However, the High Court had said that the Maharashtra government should consider pardon as the case was heard there after being transferred from Gujarat.
