Supreme Court justice KM Joseph slammed the delay in the process to hear the Bilkis Bano gang rape case, and deferred the matter to some other apex court bench, saying that it has been “made clear” to him that they don’t want him to hear the matter.
The Bilkis Bano gang rape case reached the Supreme Court once again a few months back after Bano challenged the decision to release the 11 convicts from jail, who were sentenced to life imprisonment in Gujarat and were released under the remission policy.
Supreme Court Justice Joseph lamented that the representation is trying to prevent him from hearing the case and issued a judgment before he retires. Notably, the apex court judge is set to retire on June 16, and his last working day in court will be May 19.
Bilkis Bano gang rape case: Timeline of events
During the 2002 Gujarat riots, Bilkis Bano and her family were trying to flee their attackers and were hiding in a field when they were discovered by a mob. Bano was gang raped and several members of her family were murdered, including her 3-year-old daughter.
After years of a legal battle in 2008, the 11 men accused of gang-raping Bilkis Bano and massacring her family were sentenced to life imprisonment in Gujarat.
Despite being convicted to life imprisonment, the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano rape case were freed from jail in 2022 under the remission police of the Gujarat government.
Shaken by the news of the release of her rapists, Bilkis Bano approached the Supreme Court and filed a petition for the reversal of their release under the remission policy in Gujarat.
Now, the court proceedings in the matter are constantly being delayed, with nearly 8 months of court proceedings in the matter and the case being deferred each time.
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