The apex court directed the Gujarat government to be ready on April 18 with relevant files. During the hearing, the bench of Justices K M Joseph and B V Nagarathna observed that it would not be overwhelmed by emotions in the case and would only go by the law.
Last week, Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud had agreed to constitute a new bench to hear the pleas.
Bano was 21 years old and was five months pregnant when she was gang-raped and her three-year-old daughter was among the seven of family members who were murdered. The petitions against the release of convicts was earlier taken on January 4 by a bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi but Justice Trivedi recused from hearing the case, following which the CJI had to assign the case to a new bench.
A batch of petition was filed in the apex court by social activists and politicians soon after all the 11 convicts were granted remission by the Gujarat government, and were released on August 15 last year.
The pleas were filed by the National Federation of Indian Women, whose general secretary is Annie Raja, CPM MP Subhashini Ali, journalist Revati Laul, social activist and professor Roop Rekha Verma and TMC MP Mahua Moitra. Bano too moved the apex court in November, challenging their release.
Watch Bilkis Bano case: SC issues notice to Gujarat govt, calls crime ‘horrendous’
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