Updated on Feb 9, at 6.34 p.m.

Days after 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case surrendered at the Godhra sub-jail in Gujarat, one of them has been given five-day parole by the Gujarat High Court.

Pradeep Modhiya, one of the convicts, has returned to Dahod’s Randhikpur for five days due to the death of his father-in-law, from Feb 7 to Feb 11. However, Modhiya had requested a month’s parole.

Updated on Jan 22 at 10.40 a.m.

Following the Supreme Court’s dismissal of their plea to extend the time to surrender, all the 11 convicts surrendered at the Godhra sub-jail in Gujarat on the night of Jan 21.

Updated on Jan 19, at 3 p.m.

The Supreme Court on Jan 19 dismissed the applications filed by convicts in Bilkis Bano case seeking an extension of four to six weeks to surrender before the concerned jail authorities.

A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said that the applications filed by gang-rape and murder convicts seeking permission to stretch the Jan 21 deadline to surrender have no merit.

The batch of applications filed by 10 of the 11 convicts cited reasons such as ill health, family responsibilities, care for aged and ailing parents and upcoming harvest season.

On Jan 18, the top court agreed to urgently list these applications for hearing and ordered the registry to obtain directions from the Chief Justice of India (CJI) to constitute a special bench of Justice Nagarathna and Justice Bhuyan.

Updated on Jan 18, at 1.15 p.m.

Days after the Supreme Court struck down the premature release of 11 gang-rape and murder convicts in Bilkis Bano case, three of them have moved applications before the apex court seeking extension of time to surrender before the concerned jail authorities. 

Today, a bench presided over by Justice BV Nagarathna agreed to urgently list these applications on Jan 19 for hearing.

Justice Nagarathna ordered the registry to obtain directions from Chief Justice of India to constitute a special bench comprising herself and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan - which had earlier set aside the “stereotyped and cyclostyled” remission orders passed by the Gujarat government and gave a two-week deadline to convicts to surrender before jail authorities by Jan 21.

In his application, one of the convicts pleaded that his 88-year-old bedridden father is completely dependent upon him and his 75-year-old mother is also in poor health. Further, he is yet to undergo another operation for the treatment ‘Haemorrhoids’.

“That in light of the predicaments being faced by the respondent (convict) and his family and in the interest of justice, an extension of four weeks be granted to the Respondent to surrender before the concerned jail authorities,” the application said.

Another convict - Mitesh Chimanlal Bhatt - said that he is about 62 years old senior citizen and has undergone eye surgery for cataract.

“As the winter crops produced by the applicant are ready for harvesting and other processes, the applicant needs 5 to 6 weeks for such harvesting and other processes,” Bhatt pleaded in his application.

Likewise, another application seeks to extend the time period for surrender by four weeks saying that the young son of the applicant is of marriageable age and he bears the responsibility to look after this affair.

In its Jan 8 order, rejecting plea for protection of liberty of convicts, the Supreme Court had said that if remissions orders are set aside,“then the natural consequences must follow”.

“If ultimately rule of law is to prevail and the impugned orders of remission are set aside by us, then the natural consequences must follow," it said, ordering convicts to report back to the jail authorities concerned within two weeks.

(Source: IANS)

-Edited for style

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