The Supreme Court has made it clear that its 2021 judgement, which gave permission to the Gujarat government to consider the remission applications of 11 persons convicted in the gangrape of Bilkis Bano and murder of her family members, would not bar the judicial review of remission orders subsequently passed by the state.
The Bench of Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan observed on Thursday that just because the petitioners placed reliance on the Apex Court order of 2021 on remission, they could not be prevented from challenging the remission orders of Gujarat government.
It further observed that if the 2021 decision was the starting point to remission, the present petitions have to be the end point.
It noted that a review was filed and dismissed, but it was different from a challenge against remission orders.
It further said the cause of action in the two petitions was different. One was the convicts’ cause of action to seek a mandamus for consideration of remission applications, while the other was of the petitioners challenging these remission orders.
As per the Apex Court, the petitioners could not be barred from questioning the remission orders because of the last year verdict.
Senior Advocate Rishi Malhotra, placing reliance on the Supreme Court’s judgement on the doctrine of stare decisis in Rupa Ashok Hurra (202), said that the Apex Court cannot sit in judgement over the coordinate bench ruling.
The Bench said that at this point, their examination was confined to the remission order.
The Senior Counsel then pointed out the similarities between the grounds on which Bano relied in her petition seeking a review of the May 2022 judgement, which was subsequently dismissed by the Supreme Court, and the recent petition challenging the 11 convicts’ remission.
However, the top court of the country, while agreeing to the similarities in the grounds, said that what ultimately mattered was what they argued.
(Case title: Bilkis Yakub Rasool vs Union of India & Ors)