Bilkis Bano case: Convicts move Supreme Court seeking extension of time to surrender

All eleven persons convicted in the Bilkis Bano gang rape case have moved applications before the Supreme Court seeking an extension of time to surrender before the concerned jail authorities. .Notably, the Gujarat government's decision to release them early from prison was overturned by the top court on January 8. In the said order, the Court had ordered the re-imprisonment of the convicts within two weeks..The reasons cited by the convicts for seeking extension of time to surrender before the jail authorities range from facing illnesses, duties to take care of dependent parents to pending winter-harvest activities. .Govindhbhai Nai was the first of the eleven convicts to move an application for an extension of time. He cited ill health as well as domestic responsibilities to seek the extension. As per his plea, Nai's father is bedridden and dependent on him. He further submitted that he had to undergo an angiography recently and is yet to undergo another operation for the treatment ‘Hemorrhoids’..Thereafter, two other convicts, Ramesh Rupabhai Chandana and Mitesh Chimanlal Bhat sought an extension of six weeks time. Ramesh Rupabhai Chandana claimed that he has to get his son married and fulfill related responsibilities. Mitesh Chimanlal Bhat stated that his winter produce is ready for harvest and that he would prefer to complete the process and then surrender..Later, similar applications were filed by Pradeep Ramanlal Modhiya and Bipinchand Kanaiyalal. While Modhiya sought a four-week extension to recuperate from a lung surgery, Kanaiyalal sought a six-week extension citing a leg surgery that he said had led to a partial handicap..Convicts Radheshyam Bhagwan Das and Rajubhai Babulal Soni then filed applications seeking six more weeks to surrender citing the need to make financial arrangements for their respective families. By the time the Court listed the matter for hearing, the remaining convicts, Jaswantbhai Chaturbhai Nai, Kesharbhai Khimabhai Vohania, Bakabhai Khimabhai and Shaileshbhai Chimanlal Bhatt too filed similar applications, citing their old age, impending marriages in immediate family and the need to harvest winter crops..The eleven convicts before the top court were convicted for raping Bilkis Bano and murdering her family members during the Gujarat riots of 2002.On the eve of Independence day last year, on August 14, 2023, these convicts were released from prison early, without serving out their full imprisonment sentence.The Gujarat government granted the remission to them following a May 2022 judgment in which the top court held that an application of remission should be considered in line with the policy of the State where the crime was committed (Gujarat, in this case) and not where the trial was held.Pursuant to that judgment, the Gujarat government applied its remission policy to release the convicts though the trial in the case had taken place in Maharashtra.The Gujarat government's decision was challenged by various petitioners including Bano before the top court.On January 8, Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan quashed the remission granted to the convicts by the Gujarat government. It concluded that the Gujarat government had no power to apply its remission policy to these eleven convicts.It, therefore, directed all eleven to surrender within two weeks. .Note: This article initially reported on the filing of an application by one convict. The article has been updated on January 19, 2024 to reflect the filing of similar applications by the other ten convicts in the case.