The Supreme Court dismissed the Gujarat government's plea to stop criticism of the Bilkis Bano order

The Supreme Court dismissed the Gujarat government's plea to stop criticism of the Bilkis Bano order

A bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuiyan scrutinized the review petitions and ultimately concluded that "no error is apparent on the face of the record" and there is no merit in revising the January verdict. The court also rejected the state's request for an open court hearing on the issue.

Along with the Gujarat government's plea, the Supreme Court also dismissed a review petition filed by an accused named Ramesh Rupabhai Chandna. His petition challenged the earlier judgment that had set aside the Gujarat government's waiver order, which was issued in August 2022. The court made it clear that the Maharashtra government had the authority to decide on the waiver, as the trial in the Bilkis Bano case had been transferred here. Maharashtra based on a Supreme Court order in 2004


The Gujarat government filed its review petition in February, objecting to the harsh comments made against it in the January judgment. The state contends that the characterization of his actions as implicating the accused is unwarranted and inconsistent with the case record, arguing that such comments prejudiced his reputation.

The comments came after the Supreme Court's January 8 judgment on the Gujarat government's failure to challenge the Gujarat government's earlier decision from May 13, 2022, which ordered the state to process the pardon plea of convict Radheshyam Bhagbandas Shah. Significantly, the apex court was not informed that the Gujarat High Court had held that the Maharashtra government should be the competent authority to decide on premature release.


In its judgement, the Supreme Court said that the Gujarat government did not seek a review of the May 2022 order, failing to inform the court that it contravened Section 432(7) of the Criminal Procedure Code and existing judgments. The court described the actions of the Gujarat government as an example of "power grab".

Bilquis Bano, then 21 years old and five months pregnant, was gang-raped while trying to escape with her family during the 2002 Gujarat riots. Apart from the attack, 11 people were convicted of killing seven members of his family, including his three-year-old daughter. A Mumbai court had sentenced the 11 convicts to life imprisonment in January 2008, and their appeal was dismissed by the Bombay High Court in 2017.