Bilkis Bano Case: All 11 Convicts Surrender At Godhra Sub Jail

As the Supreme Court Friday rejected the applications filed by all the eleven convicts in the Bilkis Bano case, they surrendered at Godhra sub jail in Gujarat”s Panchmahal district late Sunday night. Since the Court dismissed convicts request for the extension of time to surrender, they had to keep the deadline.

“All 11 convicts have surrendered before jail authorities late Sunday night. They reached jail before midnight of January 21, which was the deadline set for them to surrender, PTI reports as the local Crime Branch inspector NL Desai is saying.

The Supreme court had asked the convicts to surrender before jail by January 22. The convicts, in their petition, cited reasons including family weddings, dependent parents, and harvest season for urging more time. But the court held that the reason cited by the convicts for the extension of time lacked merits; therefore, they have to surrender the original date put forth by the court.

It was on January 8 Supreme Court overruled the Gujarat government’s decision to release 11 convicts who gangraped Bilkis Bano and was involved in the murder of 14 members of her family during 2002 Gujarat riot. The court noted that, “Gujarat government had no jurisdiction to entertain the application for remission or pass the orders as it was not the appropriate government”.

In 2008, a trial court in Mumbai had sentenced 11 convicts for life. The Gujarat government on August 15, 2022 released the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case under its 1992 remission and premature release policy. The 11 prematurely released convicts are Jaswant Nai, Govind Nai, Shailesh Bhatt, Radhyesham Shah, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Pradeep Mordhiya, Bakabhai Vohania, Rajubhai Soni, Mitesh Bhatt, and Ramesh Chandana.

Bilkis Bano was 21-year-old and five months pregnant when she was gang-raped and her three-year-old daughter was among the 14 family members who have killed.