The Supreme Court will hear on Friday the pleas by three convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape and murder case, seeking extension of time to surrender.

The three along with others were convicted for raping Bano and killing nine of her family members, including her 3-year old daughter, during the 2002 Gujarat riots.

The apex court on January 8 quashed the Gujarat government’s decision to grant remission of sentence to 11 convicts undergoing life imprisonment in the case, and directed them to surrender to the jail authorities concerned by January 21.

A bench headed by Justice B V Nagarathna agreed to hear the applications by three convicts — Govindbhai Nai, Rameshbhai Chandana and Mitesh Chamanlal Bhat — seeking extension of time to surrender on the grounds ranging from time to recover after recent surgery, harvest of winter crops, son’s marriage, arrangement of finances, and dependency of parents. The applicants have sought extension of time to surrender ranging from four weeks to six weeks.

Posting the matter for hearing on Friday, Justice Nagarathna in an order said that it is stated by three respondents that applications have been filed for extension of time to surrender and report to jail. Since the bench has to be reconstituted. Registry to seek orders from CJI for reconstitution of bench since time expires on Sunday.

Senior advocate V. Chitambaresh, appearing for three convicts — Govindbhai Nai, Rameshbhai Chandana and Mitesh Chamanlal Bhat – in a mentioning, seeking an early listing oi the applications for extension of time to surrender, told the court that the time to surrender is expiring on January 21.

The number of convicts seeking more time to surrender has now gone up to five, as two more convicts have approached the court in the course of the day today.

Quashing the August 10, 2019, Gujarat government order granting remission of sentence to 11 convicts, the Supreme Court by January 8, 2024, judgment, in an indictment of the Gujarat government had said that it had usurped the jurisdiction of Maharashtra government in granting remission and acted in “tandem and complicity” with one of the convicts.

Giving 11 convicts two weeks’ time to surrender before the concerned jail authorities, a bench of Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan had said that the May 13, 2022, judgment of the top court, that formed the basis for the grant of remission to 11 convicts, was obtained by the one of the convicts Radhedshyam Bhegwandas Shah @ Lala Vakil by “scrumptiously” approaching the top court in a writ jurisdiction and “committed fraud on this Court by misrepresenting” August 5, 2013, Bombay High Court judgment/order.

Stating that the Gujarat government should have approached the top court seeking review of the May 13, 2022, judgment and order, the top court had said, “Instead, the State of Gujarat has acted in tandem and was complicit with what the petitioner-respondent … (Radhedshyam Bhegwandas Shah) herein had sought before this Court. This is exactly what this Court had apprehended at the previous stages of this case and had intervened on three earlier occasions in the interest of truth and justice by transferring the investigation of the case to the CBI and the trial to the Special Court at Mumbai.”

Holding that May 13, 2022, judgment by the top court “to be a nullity and non-est in the eye of law”, the top court in the January 8, 2024, judgement had said, “Consequently, exercise of discretion by the State of Gujarat is nothing but an instance of usurpation of jurisdiction and an instance of abuse of discretion. If really State of Gujarat had in mind the provisions of law and the judgments of this Court, and had adhered to the rule of law, it would have filed a review petition before this Court by contending that it was not the appropriate Government” for the grant of remission of sentence to convicts involved in the heinous and barbaric crime.