Supreme Court Dismisses Gujarat Reconsideration Plea on Bilkis Bano Convict Release Remarks

The Supreme Court has rejected Gujarat's review petition to remove critical comments about the state's handling of the premature release of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case. The court upheld the dismissal, stating no merit or error in the review, which alleged prejudice against Gujarat.

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a review petition by the Gujarat government seeking to expunge critical remarks regarding its conduct in the premature release of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case. Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan ruled that there were no apparent errors or merits in the review petitions, leading to their dismissal.

The Gujarat government had argued that the adverse remarks caused significant prejudice and sought their removal. It claimed that it acted according to a May 2022 Supreme Court directive, which instructed the state to consider a remission application from one of the convicts.

In January 2024, the Supreme Court invalidated Gujarat's order to grant remission to the convicts, stating that Maharashtra was the competent authority as per territorial jurisdiction. The Court criticized Gujarat for usurping Maharashtra's powers and dismissed the review petition filed by Gujarat, asserting the remarks' correctness.

(With inputs from agencies.)