Bilkis Bano case: Supreme Court cancels own order, says fraudulently obtained

The Supreme Court while reversing the Gujarat government order that granted early release to the 11 men convicted for raping Bilkis Bano cancelled its own order issued in May 2022.

The top court said that a petition filed by one of the rapists, Radheshyam Shah in 2022, seeking directions to the Gujarat goverment to consider the remission of his sentence, was obtained by 'suppressing facts' and 'playing fraud on the court'.

'The convict played fraud on this court. The Gujarat High Court's order could not have been challenged in a writ petition, nor could it have been set aside in writ proceedings. Hence the said order is a nullity and non-est in law. Consequently, the May 2022 order is hit by fraud and is a nullity. It cannot be given effect to. All proceedings pursuant to the said order are vitiated,' the Supreme Court said.

The Supreme Court in its 2022 order had said that the matter of remission can be considered by the government of the state where the crime was committed even if the trial has been transferred to another state.

On Monday, while quashing the Gujarat govt's remission order, the Supreme Court said that the state govt was not the appropriate authority to pass the remission order. It said that the state, where an offender is tried and sentenced, is competent to decide the remission plea of convicts. The convicts in this case were tried by Maharashtra.

The court said the Gujarat government usurped power to grant remission to the rapists and it used its May 13, 2022 order to usurp power and abuses the process of law.

(with PTI inputs)