Bilkis Bano gang rape: Gujarat High Court grants parole to one convict after father-in-law expires

A fortnight after eleven convicts in the Bilkis Bano case surrendered at the Godhra jail after the Supreme Court quashed their remission, one of the convicts was released on parole by the Gujarat High Court due to the death of his father-in-law. .The convict Pradipbhai Ramamlal Modiya approached the Gujarat High seeking parole for 30 days following the death of his father-in-law. .Justice MR Mengdey after examining the death certificate and the statement of the jail officer granted Modiya the parole for five days. ."The petition is partly allowed. The petitioner is ordered to be enlarged on parole leave for a period of 5 (Five) days from the date of his actual release on usual terms and conditions, including furnishing a bail bond of ₹5,000 to the satisfaction of the jail authority. The petitioner shall surrender before the jail authority on or before the expiry of the parole leave," the order said. .As per the affidavit earlier in Supreme Court, Modiya has been out on parole for a total of 1041 days and another 233 days on furlough, since he was serving the life sentence starting from January 2008. .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 August 14, 2023, the eleven convicts were released from prison after they were granted remission by the Gujarat government.The State government granted the remission to them following a May 2022 judgment of the Supreme Court 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 (the trial in the case was held in Maharashtra).Pursuant to that judgment, the Gujarat government applied its remission policy to release the convicts.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..[Read Order]