NEW DELHI: A bench headed by Justice BV Nagarathna reversed an earlier court decision, thereby granting a much-needed justice to Gujarat riot victim Bilkis Banu. A convict named Radheshyam Bhagwandas Shah had filed a petition in the Supreme Court in 2022 demanding that the Gujarat government be instructed to consider his plea for leniency.

Back then, a bench comprising Justices Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath accepted the demand. However, Justice B.V. Nagarathna found that the convict had obtained the judgment from the apex court by playing fraud and said the earlier judgment wouldn't stand in front of the law. The judge accused the offender of producing misleading information to obtain relief from the court. At that time, the Supreme Court had observed that the Gujarat government had the power to grant concessions.

This is contrary to the judgment of the Constitution Bench in the Sriharan case. Interestingly, in 2022, the Gujarat government said that Maharashtra had the authority to decide on the commutation of the sentence in the Bilkis case. Though the argument was dismissed then, the Gujarat government did not file a review petition against it. Based on the verdict, the sentence was commuted on August 10, 2022. The criminals were released from jail on the 15th.

1. The Gujarat High Court had directed the accused to submit a leniency petition to Maharashtra court. The accused concealed this from the Supreme Court.

2. The application to the Maharashtra government was not disclosed in the Supreme Court at that time

3. The CBI had opposed the release of convicts stating that it was an unforgivable crime and that releasing the culprits would send a wrong message. This was also hidden from the report filed.

4. The Supreme Court was not informed of the position of the Mumbai Special Court, SP of Gujarat Dahod.

5. A favourable order was obtained from the Supreme Court in 2022 by concealing information and misrepresenting it.

On Monday, the Supreme Court expressed its desire for the rule of law to prevail throughout the verdict. The jurisdiction should act lawfully while granting remission of sentence, warned SC.