The Supreme Court on Monday, instructed the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case to report back to the respective jail authorities within two weeks. The Court criticized the Gujarat government for aligning with one of the convicts who sought the top court’s direction to consider his application for premature release.
A bench comprising Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan rejected the plea for protection of the convicts’ liberty, emphasizing that the “natural consequences” of setting aside remission orders must be observed.
The bench stated, “We think that a person is entitled to the protection of his liberty only in accordance with the law. When a person’s liberty cannot be violated in breach of the law, can a person’s liberty be protected in the face of a breach or violation of the law? In upholding the rule of law, are we depriving respondents (convicts) of the right to freedom and liberty? We wish to make it clear that only when the rule of law prevails, liberty and other fundamental rights would prevail in our constitution.”
The Supreme Court nullified the Gujarat government’s decision to release the convicts under the state’s remission policy on August 15, 2022, in connection with the gang rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of her family members during the 2002 state riots.
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