Bilkis Bano Case Convicts To Surrender Before Jail Authorities By Sunday As SC Dismisses Their Pleas Seeking Extension

The Supreme Court on Friday (19 January) dismissed the pleas by convicts in the Bilkis Bano case seeking extension of time to surrender before jail authorities.

A bench led by Justice BV Nagarathna said the petitions lacked merit and ordered the convicts to return to jail by Sunday (21 January).

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The convicts will have to surrender before the jail authorities by 21 January, the original deadline set by the Apex Court as per its 8 January judgment which set aside their premature release.

"The reasons cited by applicants to seek postponement of surrender and report back to jail have no merit inasmuch as those reasons in no way prevent them from complying with our directions," the top Court said while dismissing the applications, Livelaw reported.

A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan gave the order after hearing multiple applications filed by the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case seeking an extension of time to surrender before jail authorities.

The 11 convicts in the case have been sentence to life for the gangrape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Earlier on 8 January, the Apex Court had quashing the remission granted by the Gujarat government to the 11 convicts and asked them to surrender to jail authorities within two weeks.

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