New Delhi, March 17 (NationPress) The Supreme Court of India has issued a notice regarding a petition submitted by two individuals convicted in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case, which is associated with the 2002 post-Godhra riots. They are challenging a 2017 ruling by the Bombay High Court that affirmed their conviction and subsequent sentence.

A judicial panel comprising Justices Rajesh Bindal and Vijay Bishnoi has requested responses from the respective governments of Gujarat and Maharashtra concerning the special leave petitions (SLP) presented by Bipinchandra Kanaiyalal Joshi alias Lala Doctor and Pradip Ramanlal Modhiya.

The hearing is scheduled for May 5.

The petitioners are contesting the May 4, 2017, decision of the Bombay High Court, which had validated the life sentences imposed by the trial court on 11 individuals involved in the gangrape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of her relatives.

In its comprehensive judgment, the Bombay High Court not only confirmed the conviction of the principal accused but also criticized certain police and medical personnel. It noted, “It is clear that they were negligent in performing the postmortem and omitted critical information.”

The Bombay High Court further stated that the actions of the police and medical officials created “a series of concealments of facts leading to the disappearance of evidence, aimed at shielding the perpetrators from justice.”

Overruling the acquittal of various officials, the court found them guilty under Sections 201 and 218 of the Indian Penal Code, while stating that the elements of Section 217 IPC were not proven.

“Simultaneously, we affirm the convictions and sentences imposed on accused numbers 1, 2, and 4 to 12 as determined by the trial court,” affirmed the Bombay High Court, rejecting the appeals of the convicts against their sentences.

This criminal case is linked to the unrest that erupted in Gujarat following the Godhra train burning incident in February 2002.

Bilkis Bano, who was five months pregnant at the time, was subjected to gangrape, and several of her family members, including her three-year-old daughter, were murdered.

Earlier, in January 2024, the Supreme Court annulled the remission granted to the 11 convicts by the Gujarat government, describing the orders as “formulaic and legally indefensible.”

It mandated that the convicts surrender to prison authorities within two weeks.

The apex court determined that the Gujarat government lacked the authority to grant remission and noted that the prior order allowing for remission consideration was secured through the concealment of crucial facts.

The Supreme Court had transferred the case from Gujarat to Mumbai in 2004 to guarantee a fair trial.

In 2008, a Special CBI court in Mumbai convicted the 11 defendants and sentenced them to life imprisonment for crimes including gangrape and murder during the communal violence.