Bilkis Bano case: 5 convicts move SC seeking more time to surrender

New Delhi: Days after the Supreme Court quashed the remission the Gujarat government had granted them, five of those convicted of gang-raping Bilkis Bano and massacring seven members of her family during the 2002 communal riots moved the Supreme Court on Thursday seeking more time to surrender.

The top court had on January 8 annulled the remission the Gujarat government granted to the 11 convicts in the high-profile case while slamming the State for being “complicit” with an accused and abusing its discretion. It ordered the convicts, who were released prematurely on Independence Day in 2022, to go back to jail within two weeks.

The reasons for seeking extension of the deadline to surrender include failing health, impending surgery, son’s marriage and harvesting ripe crops. The matter was mentioned before a bench of Justices B V Nagarathana and Sanjay Karol which asked the registry to place their applications before Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud.