New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said it will hear after three weeks the pleas challenging the remission of sentence and release of 11 convicts in the 2002 Bilkis Bano gang-rape case and murder of her seven family members during the Gujarat riots.
The apex court asked the counsel for the Gujarat government to place before it the relevant records within two weeks.
The matter came up for hearing before a bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and B V Nagarathna.
On August 25, the top court had sought responses from the Centre and the Gujarat government to a petition challenging the remission granted to the 11 convicts in the case.
The court had issued notice on a plea filed by CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali, journalist Revathy Laul and activist Roop Rekha Rani. It had asked the petitioners to implead the 11 convicted persons, who have been granted remission, as parties in the matter.
TMC MP Mahua Moitra has also filed a separate plea in the top court challenging the grant of remission and her petition was also listed for hearing on Friday.
During the hearing, advocate Rishi Malhotra, appearing for one of the 11 convicts, said the petitioners have on Thursday filed an application to implead these persons as respondents. "Notices have to go to the impleaded respondents," he said.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioners, said they have complied with the apex court's earlier direction.
"Why you have filed an application for adjournment?" the bench asked Malhotra, who said notices have to go to the impleaded respondents and they have to file their replies.
He said multiple petitions have been filed in the matter.
"I am against this impleadment business in criminal matter," he said, while objecting to the locus of the petitioners.
The bench told Malhotra that 11 persons have been impleaded as party respondents in the lead matter and he can accept notices on their behalf.
Malhotra said he has been appearing for only one of them and he would have to take instructions.
The bench said copy of the petitions be served to him as well as the counsel for the state.
Malhotra said issuance of notice would not be necessary in the other petitions as they are asking for the same thing.