Express News Service
NEW DELHI: Hearing pleas challenging the remission granted to 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday that it would go by legal merits and not consider the public outcry. “We will only go by merits. Will consider only legal submissions. Suppose there is no public outcry, are we supposed to uphold the order?
As a corollary, if there is a public outcry, are we supposed to set aside the order (premature release)? Say it is a wrong order?” Justice BV Nagarathna, the presiding judge of the bench, asked as Bilkis’ lawyer Shobha Gupta drew the court’s attention to the public outrage that followed the premature release of the convicts last year.
Questioning its relevance, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan asked, “How would it be relevant for judicial consideration?” Interestingly, the bench, during the hearing, also expressed reservation with regard to the manner in which one of the convicts, Radhey Shyam, had approached SC seeking its directions to consider his petition related to the premature release.
The bench also posted for Wednesday the plea to hear locus standi of multiple people who have filed PILs in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case. Besides the petition filed by Bilkis Bano, several other PILs, including one by CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali, independent journalist Revati Laul and former vice-chancellor of Lucknow University Roop Rekha Verma, have challenged the remission. Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has filed a PIL as well.
ALSO READ | Supreme Court raps Gujarat government for remission in Bilkis case
Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for one of the convicts, told the bench that once the victim is in court, others may not have a locus standi (entitlement to bring a lawsuit in the court) to intervene in a matter of this nature.
Bail to Morbi Bridge case accused upheld by SC
The apex court has refused to cancel the bail granted by the Gujarat High Court to an accused who had issued tickets to visitors on the day when the Morbi bridge collapsed last year, leaving over 140 dead. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra did not agree to the submissions of the lawyer that the high court wrongly granted bail to the accused.
ALSO READ | Gujarat court rejects bail pleas of seven accused in Morbi bridge collapse case
“He was just selling the tickets,” the CJI said, while dismissing the plea for cancellation of the bail granted to accused Mansukhbhai Valjibhai Topia on June 9.
“We are not inclined to entertain the Special Leave Petitions under Article 136 of the Constitution. The Special Leave Petitions are accordingly dismissed,” the bench said.
NEW DELHI: Hearing pleas challenging the remission granted to 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday that it would go by legal merits and not consider the public outcry. “We will only go by merits. Will consider only legal submissions. Suppose there is no public outcry, are we supposed to uphold the order?
As a corollary, if there is a public outcry, are we supposed to set aside the order (premature release)? Say it is a wrong order?” Justice BV Nagarathna, the presiding judge of the bench, asked as Bilkis’ lawyer Shobha Gupta drew the court’s attention to the public outrage that followed the premature release of the convicts last year.
Questioning its relevance, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan asked, “How would it be relevant for judicial consideration?” Interestingly, the bench, during the hearing, also expressed reservation with regard to the manner in which one of the convicts, Radhey Shyam, had approached SC seeking its directions to consider his petition related to the premature release. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
The bench also posted for Wednesday the plea to hear locus standi of multiple people who have filed PILs in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case. Besides the petition filed by Bilkis Bano, several other PILs, including one by CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali, independent journalist Revati Laul and former vice-chancellor of Lucknow University Roop Rekha Verma, have challenged the remission. Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has filed a PIL as well.
ALSO READ | Supreme Court raps Gujarat government for remission in Bilkis case
Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for one of the convicts, told the bench that once the victim is in court, others may not have a locus standi (entitlement to bring a lawsuit in the court) to intervene in a matter of this nature.
Bail to Morbi Bridge case accused upheld by SC
The apex court has refused to cancel the bail granted by the Gujarat High Court to an accused who had issued tickets to visitors on the day when the Morbi bridge collapsed last year, leaving over 140 dead. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra did not agree to the submissions of the lawyer that the high court wrongly granted bail to the accused.
ALSO READ | Gujarat court rejects bail pleas of seven accused in Morbi bridge collapse case
“He was just selling the tickets,” the CJI said, while dismissing the plea for cancellation of the bail granted to accused Mansukhbhai Valjibhai Topia on June 9.
“We are not inclined to entertain the Special Leave Petitions under Article 136 of the Constitution. The Special Leave Petitions are accordingly dismissed,” the bench said.
