'No privilege over documents on remission of convicts in Bilkis Bano case': Centre tells SC
Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 02 May, 2023 03:40 PM
New Delhi, May 2 (IANS) The Centre and the Gujarat government on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that they would not claim privilege over the documents in connection with the remission of sentence of convicts in Bilkis Bano gang-rape and murder of her family members' case during the Gujarat riots, and agreed to share the documents with the apex court for its perusal.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre and Gujarat government, submitted before a bench headed by Justice K.M. Joseph and comprising justice B V Nagarathna that they do not claim privilege over files in connection with grant of remission to 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case.
Mehta submitted that the Centre and the state government will also not seek review of the apex court's earlier order directing them to bring on record documents in connection with the remission of the convicts. Raising objection to the petitions filed in the matter other than by Bano, Mehta said it will have wide ramifications and third parties will come to the courts in criminal cases.
The top court recorded Mehta's statement that Centre and Gujarat government are not seeking review of the order regarding the direction of production of records.
The bench said it will hear the matter on May 9, as counsel for convicts said that they need time to file their replies to the plea by Bano.
On April 18, the Centre and the Gujarat government, before the Supreme Court, claimed privilege over files in connection with the grant of remission to 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case.
The Centre's counsel had said the government is likely to seek review of the court's March 27 order, asking them to be ready with the original files on remission granted to the convicts.
During the hearing on Tuesday, Justice Joseph said the court is only fixing timelines, so that the new bench which hears the matter should not have to waste time on these procedural issues.
"I am retiring during vacation on June 16. My last working day will be on May 19. My sister (Justice Nagarathna) will be going to attend a conference in Singapore till May 25. If all of you agree, then we can sit during the vacation and finish the hearing," Justice Joseph said.
Advocate Shobha Gupta, representing Bano, submitted that only the question of law needs to be decided and the matter will not take a long time and counsel for other petitioners also requested the court to take up the matter before vacation.
Advocate Rishi Malhotra, appearing for a convict, said what was the "tearing hurry" in hearing the case, as the respondents have been released and are out for around one year.
Mehta contended that the bench may list the matter for hearing before court's summer vacation.
Justice Joseph told Gupta: "It is apparent from the way counsel appearing for convicts that they do not want this hearing to take place. It is more than obvious".
Justice Joseph said every time when the matter is listed for hearing, someone would come saying that he needed time to file a reply.
After hearing submissions, the top court said a new bench would take up the matter for a hearing in the second week of July.
In the previous hearing, the top court had noted that a pregnant woman, Bilkis Bano, was gang-raped and several people were killed and the case cannot be compared with a standard Section 302 (murder) cases, and while stressing on the gravity of the offence and on the remission granted to 11 convicts, said: "Unequals cannot be treated equally."
The 11 men convicted in the case were released on August 15 last year, after the Gujarat government allowed their release under its remission policy. The convicts had completed 15 years in jail.
A batch of petitions have been filed against the release of 11 convicts, including the one filed by Bano.
The other petitions were filed by CPI-M leader Subhashini Ali, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, National Federation of Indian Women, Meeran Chadha Borwankar and others, Asma Shafique Shaikh and others.
The top court had issued notice on all the pleas filed in the matter.
Bishnoi was also involved in cross-border drugs trafficking and a Nigerian woman was working for him, claimed the Gujarat ATS, which now wants to interrogate the gangster in connection with the Al-Tayyasa boat matter in which 38.994 kg heroin worth Rs 194.97 crore was recovered from the Mitha Port in Gujarat.
Speaking at a national conference of Sports Ministers of the States and UTs here in Manipur capital, which was presided by Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur, Meet Hayer said Punjab has not hosted any edition of National Games or Khelo India Games since 2001.
A total of 10,827 recoveries in the last 24 hours increased the total recoveries to 4,42,61,476. The daily positivity rate is 5.46 per cent) and the weekly positivity rate stands at 5.32 per cent.
The court had convicted Gandhi on March 23 for his remarks made during an election rally in Kolar in April 2019, where he had said that "all people with the Modi surname are thieves". The court sentenced him to two years in prison and he was disqualified as a member of Lok Sabha the next day.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday said that the people of Karnataka are going to "bless" the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the upcoming Assembly elections. He was speaking to reporters after participating in the filing of nomination by Arjun Halagigoudar, AAP candidate for the Terdal constituency.
Senior advocate Dayan Krishnan, appearing for the AAP leader, submitted before the bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma that all the other accused in the CBI case have been released on bail except Sisodia. He also said that the probe agency has no proof to show that the AAP leader has tampered with evidence.
