New Delhi Mar 2 (UNI) One of the convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case, has moved the Supreme Court contending that the judgment passed by it on January 8, 2024 leading to the cancellation of his remission (early release from prison) and the re-imprisonment of all eleven convicts was 'judicially improper.'
As per the convict Radheshyam Bhagwandas Shah, the January 8 judgment delivered by Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan was "not only judicial impropriety but creates uncertainty and chaos as to which precedence of law has to be applied in future."
Radheshyam has urged that it was incorrect in law for the two-judge bench led by Justice Nagarathna to overrule a judgment rendered by another two judge-bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice Vikram Nath.
The case pertains to a judgment passed by a Supreme Court bench of Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice Vikram Nath in May 2022, which held that the State of Gujarat (and not the Maharashtra government) was the appropriate government to decide on remission applications filed by the rape convicts in the Bilkis Bano case.
The Gujarat government eventually decided to allow the remission applications, which decision was then challenged before the Supreme Court.
This challenge was heard by the bench headed by Justice Nagarathna, who found that the May 2022 judgment was secured by Radheshyam and others by misleading the Court and suppressing key facts.
The bench headed by Justice Nagarathna, after finding that the remission order passed in May 2022 was obtained by submitting fraudulent papers in the court cancelled the Gujarat government's decision to allow convicts' early release from jail.
Radheshyam through advocate Rishi Malhotra has moved the Supreme Court again contending that since the two-judge bench led by Justice Nagarathna disagreed with another two-judge bench (led by Justice Rastogi), the matter ought to have been referred to a larger bench.
Referring to a judgment passed by the Constitution bench in the Rupa Ashok Hurra case, Advocate Rishi Malhotra said that this squarely deals with such issues of two benches of equal strength deciding on the same case and delivering conflicting orders, the petitioner added.
Malhotra urged the Supreme Court to clarify which of the two-judge bench judgments should prevail in this case. In this case also both the benches of equal strength have decided the same case and delivered conflicting orders.
Malhotra also sought bail for Radheshyam in the matter until the Supreme Court clarifies which of the two-judge bench judgments would prevail and has urged the top court to reconsider the convict's plea for premature release.
Radheshyam Shah is among eleven convicts convicted for raping Bilkis Bano and murdering her family members during the Gujarat riots of 2002. The eleven convicts were released from prison on August 14, 2023, after remission (early release from prison) was granted to them by the Gujarat government.
Bilkis Bano challenged the remission order in the Supreme Court. The Convicts were sent back to prison after the Supreme Court set aside the remission orders on January 8 this year and asked them to surrender within one Month. The Apex court also refused to extend the time within which they should surrender before the jail authorities.
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