The Supreme Court on Tuesday said public outcry will not affect its judicial decision while hearing petitions challenging the remission granted by the Gujarat Government in August 2022 to 11 life convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case.
“Public outcry will not affect our judicial decisions. We will consider only legal submissions. Suppose there is no public outcry, are we supposed to uphold the order? If there is a public outcry, does it mean it is a wrong order?” a Bench headed by Justice B.V. Nagarathna addressed advocate Shobha Gupta, appearing for Ms. Bano.
At one point the Bench asked whether the convicts had expressed any regret.
The petitioners argued that the convicts were garlanded soon after their release, and statements had allegedly been made about their being Brahmins who could not commit crimes.
The 11 men were also undergoing life imprisonment for the murder of at least seven persons. The incidents happened during the 2002 riots in Gujarat.
“What is wrong in garlanding by a family member?” Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, appearing for Gujarat, asked.
The top court said it would hear arguments on August 9 on the locus standi of multiple petitioners in the case.
Besides the petition filed by Ms. Bano, several other public interest litigations (PIL), including one by Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Subhashini Ali, independent journalist Revati Laul, and former Vice-Chancellor of Lucknow University Roop Rekha Verma have challenged the remission. Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra has also filed a PIL against the remission.
