SC asks states/UTs to decide on plea seeking to conduct yatras on poll awareness
The bench was told that such orders prohibit all kinds of assemblies, meetings and demonstrations during the duration of elections.
The Supreme Court bench of Justice KM Joseph and Justice BV Nagarathna will hear on March 27, Gujarat riots gang rape victim Bilkis Bano’s plea against the pre-mature release of 11 convicts who had gangraped her and killed seven members of her family including her three-year old daughter.
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud heading a bench on March 22 said: “I will have a bench constituted. Need to break two benches for it. Will look at it this evening.”
Chief Justice Chandrachud had said this in the wake of a mention by Bilkis Bano’s advocate Shobha Guopta seeking an early listing of the master.
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Before Bilkis Bano’s matter came to the bench of Justice Joseph and Justice Nagarathna, the matter was listed before a bench of Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice Bela M Trivedi. However, Justice Bela M Trivedi recused from hearing the matter.
After the recusal by Justice Bela M Trivedi, the bench headed by Justice Rastogi had ordered that the matter be listed before a bench of which Justice Bela M Trivedi is not a part of as she had recused herself from hearing the case.
Challenging the grant of remission to 11 convicts, Bilkis has said that even though she is a victim of the crime, she had no clue about any such process of remission or premature release initiated.
Gujarat government has defended its decision to grant remission of sentence to 11 convicts, saying that it had secured “suitable orders” for grant of remission to the convicts from the Centre. The investigation in the case was carried out by the CBI.
Prior to Bilkis, General Secretary, National Federation of Indian Women, Annie Raja, Member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Subhashini Ali, journalist Revati Laul, social activist and professor Roop Rekha Verma and TMC MP Mahua Moitra had approached the top court seeking revocation of premature order.
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