2024-01-10 08:09:00
MUMBAI: In the Bilkis Banu case, the Maharashtra law will not open the way for the accused to be released from jail.
The Supreme Court had clarified that the state where the case was tried and not the state where the crime was committed is important while canceling the order of release of the accused. The Supreme Court also said in its judgment that the Gujarat government has no authority to release the accused.
But under Maharashtra law, those convicted of violence once morest women can be considered for release only following serving 28 years in prison.
All the 11 accused in the Bilquis Banu case have served almost 15 years in prison. So even if there is a favorable decision from the Maharashtra government, it will have to wait at least till 2036.
The Supreme Court had ordered all 11 accused to surrender in jail within two weeks.
At the same time, the media reported that nine of the 11 accused in the case have gone absconding. The houses in Gujarat’s Dahot district, where they lived, are lying vacant.
Apart from Bilquis Banu, former MP Mahua Moitra, CPI(M) politburo member Subhashini Ali, independent journalist and filmmaker Revathi Lol and professor and activist Roop Rekh Verma had also filed petitions once morest the acquittal of the accused.
During the 2002 Gujarat riots, Bilquis Banu, who was pregnant, was raped by the accused who killed her family members.
All 11 accused in the case, who were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Bombay High Court, were released on August 15, 2022 to mark the 75th anniversary of Independence. The committee chaired by the District Collector ordered the release of the accused considering their good behavior in the jail.
Content Highlight: Maharashtra norms will not pave way for the release of Culprits in Bilkis bano Case
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