Express News Service
NEW DELHI: The Central government and the Gujarat government on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that it would comply with its March 27 order directing them to be ready with the files related to the remission of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case.
Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta submitted before the bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna that the Centre and state government was not claiming privilege and had decided to not file a review of the top court’s March 27 order.
“SG Tushar Mehta would submit that neither the respondent nor the Union of India was pressing the claim of privilege which was adverted to from the previous order. SG would submit that the Union of India and state will not file an order seeking review wherein the SC had asked to produce the files,” the court noted in its order.
Although the bench on the last date of hearing on April 18 clarified that it would on May 2 commence hearing the pleas for final disposal, the events took a different turn one of the counsels accused Bilkis of playing “fraud” with the court by making false statements in the affidavit.
The counsel submitted before the bench that even though two respondents were out of the station, Bilkis had filed an affidavit indicating that they had refused to accept the notice.
Objecting to the petitioner’s counsel to begin her submissions, the counsel said that adequate time was not given to the accused to file their response. “I will take notice, but I will require time to file my response. The court should also take into account the fact that she has tried to mislead the court. I can show that this is not the first time,” the counsel said.
He also insisted that action under the Code of Criminal Procedure should be taken against the accused. Caught in a catch-22 situation, Justice Joseph after a hearing of almost 1.5 hours said that it was apparent from the way counsels were seeking time to file the replies that they don’t want this bench to hear the pleas.
“They are persons who have been released and they are out of jail. The point is that they came to my court. Had it come earlier before my court it could’ve taken a different turn. Since I am retiring on June 16, there happens to be a vacation. May 19 is the last working day. It is apparent from the way counsel appearing for convicts that they do not want this hearing to take place. Every time the matter will be called up, one person or the other will say that he needs time to file a reply. It is more than obvious,” Justice Joseph told Bilkis’s lawyer Advocate Shobha Gupta who said that the bench was their “only hope.”
The judge posted the pleas for May 9 for directions to lay down the timeline for the case to be heard after summer vacations.
Also in top court
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Stay on Haldwani demolition remains
The SC on Tuesday said that its order staying the Uttarakhand High Court directions for the removal of encroachments from 29 acres of land claimed by the railways in Haldwani will continue during the pendency of petitions in the matter before it.
NEW DELHI: The Central government and the Gujarat government on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that it would comply with its March 27 order directing them to be ready with the files related to the remission of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case.
Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta submitted before the bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna that the Centre and state government was not claiming privilege and had decided to not file a review of the top court’s March 27 order.
“SG Tushar Mehta would submit that neither the respondent nor the Union of India was pressing the claim of privilege which was adverted to from the previous order. SG would submit that the Union of India and state will not file an order seeking review wherein the SC had asked to produce the files,” the court noted in its order.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
Although the bench on the last date of hearing on April 18 clarified that it would on May 2 commence hearing the pleas for final disposal, the events took a different turn one of the counsels accused Bilkis of
playing “fraud” with the court by making false statements in the affidavit.
The counsel submitted before the bench that even though two respondents were out of the station, Bilkis had filed an affidavit indicating that they had refused to accept the notice.
Objecting to the petitioner’s counsel to begin her submissions, the counsel said that adequate time was not given to the accused to file their response. “I will take notice, but I will require time to file my response. The court should also take into account the fact that she has tried to mislead the court. I can show that this is not the first time,” the counsel said.
He also insisted that action under the Code of Criminal Procedure should be taken against the accused. Caught in a catch-22 situation, Justice Joseph after a hearing of almost 1.5 hours said that it was apparent from the way counsels were seeking time to file the replies that they don’t want this bench to hear the pleas.
“They are persons who have been released and they are out of jail. The point is that they came to my court. Had it come earlier before my court it could’ve taken a different turn. Since I am retiring on June 16, there happens to be a vacation. May 19 is the last working day. It is apparent from the way counsel appearing for convicts that they do not want this hearing to take place. Every time the matter will be called up, one person or the other will say that he needs time to file a reply. It is more than obvious,” Justice Joseph told Bilkis’s lawyer Advocate Shobha Gupta who said that the bench was their “only hope.”
The judge posted the pleas for May 9 for directions to lay down the timeline for the case to be heard after summer vacations.
Also in top court
Sessions judge sent to judicial academy
The SC has directed Allahabad HC to send a sessions judge in UP to judicial academy for upgrading his skills. A bench headed by Justice S K Kaul said, “The Judge concerned meets the parameter for upgrading his skill in a judicial academy and the needful be done.”
Stay on Haldwani demolition remains
The SC on Tuesday said that its order staying the Uttarakhand High Court directions for the removal of encroachments from 29 acres of land claimed by the railways in Haldwani will continue during
the pendency of petitions in the matter before it.
