Tag: Supreme Court

MP Shashi Tharoor CAA

CAA Will Be Repealed If INDIA Alliance Assumes Power: Tharoor

By LokMarg

Backing the opposition’s move to approach the Supreme Court over the enforcement of the CAA and denouncing the act as ‘unconstitutional,’ Congress MP Shashi Tharoor affirmed that it would be repealed if the INDIA alliance assumes power.

Presenting historical evidence to highlight the flaws in the legislation, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor argued that the CAA is both morally and constitutionally incorrect. He pointed out that “The basis on which partition occurred, was one country saying that religion was the basis of their country, and they went on and created Pakistan and Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Azad, Dr Ambedkar, had said that religion won’t be the basis of our nationhood. Our struggle for freedom is for everyone, and the constitution and nation we create will be for everyone.”

“It is clearly timed, four years after the passage of the bill, for their benefit in these elections. I’m fully in support of the decision of the Indian Union Muslim League to go to the Supreme Court against this,” he said.

Tharoor declared that if the INDIA alliance and the Congress party assume power, they will unequivocally revoke this provision of the law, and will be a part of their manifesto.

“And I must say, if the INDIA alliance and the Congress party come to power, we will withdraw this provision of the law beyond any shadow of a doubt. It’s going to be in our manifesto. We will not support introducing religion into our citizenship and into our nation’s life,” Tharoor said.

However, Delhi Haj Committee Chairman Kausar Jahan welcomed the move and said that the act is meant to give citizenship and not take it away.

“I welcome this. This is an act to give citizenship and not take it away. The condition of Non-Muslims in our neighbouring countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh is not good. If the govt wants to give them a respectful life, what is the problem with it? The Muslim community will not have any problem with this, there is no need to panic,” she said.

Meanwhile, UDF Chairman and Opposition Leader VD Satheesan said that widespread agitation programs against the implementation of CAA will be conducted nationwide.

“The Congress and the UDF will resist the efforts of the Sangh Parivar forces to reap political gains by creating division and fear among the people. The law will not be allowed to be enforced under any circumstances”, he added.

Union Home Ministry announced the notification of rules for implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on Monday, days ahead of the announcement of the Lok Sabha election schedule.

The CAA rules, introduced by the Narendra Modi government and passed by Parliament in 2019, aim to confer Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants–including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians–who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and arrived in India before December 31, 2014. (ANI)

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Arvind Kejriwal

SC Orders AAP To Vacate Office On Delhi HC’s Land By June 15

By LokMarg

The Supreme Court on Monday gave time to the Aam Aadmi Party till June 15 to vacate its political office located on a plot that was allotted to the Delhi High Court for the purpose of expanding the district judiciary after taking note of the upcoming general election.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud also permitted AAP to apply to the Land and Development Office of the Government of India for allotment of the alternate land in accordance with the law in the meantime.

“In view of the impending general elections, we grant time until June 15, 2024, to vacate the premises,” the court said.

During the hearing, the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that the AAP were

encroachers of land from 2017 onwards. The court also clarified that the party was not a lawful occupant of the land after 2017, which cannot be denied and is giving them the liberty to pursue their rights.

Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for AAP, apprised the court that they were allotted the land in 2015 by the government of Delhi.

However, CJI commented to the AAP’s counsel that, being part of the court, he can’t say that land cannot be given to the High Court.

AAP’s counsel said that a month before the election, they will be on the road if they vacate the land now. He informed the court that the government is allotting them land far away in Badarpur.

The court remarked that the land belonged to the high court. The senior advocate apprised the court that they were allotted the land in 2015 by the government of Delhi.

Aam Aadmi Party has earlier informed the Supreme Court that it has not not encroached on any land of the court and the premise were officially allotted to the AAP by the Delhi Government for its State Unit Office in 2015

In an application filed before the Supreme Court, AAP has countered the allegations of alleged encroachment of judicial land.

The Supreme Court had earlier expressed its shock when it came to knowing that a political party’s political office is located on a plot that was allotted to the Delhi High Court.

The court was dealing with a matter pertaining to judicial infrastructure across the country.

In the earlier hearing, the Supreme Court issued various directions to the Delhi government in relation to the construction of judicial infrastructure in the national capital.

In pursuance of the order of the top court, a meeting chaired by the Acting Chief Justice of the High Court of Delhi was convened, which was attended by the Chief Secretary, GNCTD, Principal Secretary (Law), Principal Secretary (PWD), Secretary (Finance), other officers of GNCTD and

L&DO was held in December. Various decisions were taken at the meeting.

The construction of a residential project comprising 70 residential units for judicial officers commenced at Dwarka in October 2014.

The construction, however, came to a standstill due to structural defects, which endangered the

construction.

A report has been submitted by CBRI, Roorkee, highlighting the substandard quality of construction. The project is stalled and there is no other ongoing project for the construction of residential units for judicial officers in Delhi. The final decision in regard to the future course of action in respect of the residential project at Dwarka will have to be taken, the court noted.

The L&DO of the Union government shall take steps to ensure that possession of the vacant area available for the Rouse Avenue Project is handed over to the High Court of Delhi expeditiously and, in any event, by December 31, 2023, the top court also said. (ANI)

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Ban On 23 dog breeds

Farmers Protest: SC Asks Petitioner Not To File Plea For Publicity

By LokMarg

The Supreme Court on Monday allowed a petitioner to withdraw his plea seeking direction to the government of India to consider the reasonable demands of the farmers who are staging continuous peaceful protest and demonstration.

A bench headed by Justice Surya Kant observed that these are complex issues and told the lawyer not to file such petitions for publicity based on newspaper reports.

“Do not file such petitions for publicity only, based on newspaper reports. The High Court is also seized and has given directions. Be careful. We are not taking a stand on anything. Do your own research also, these are complex issues,” said the bench to the petitioner’s lawyer.

It allowed the petitioner to withdraw the plea with liberty to seek remedies as per law.

Agnostos Theos, Managing Director of The Sikh Chamber of Commerce approached the Supreme Court seeking direction over farmers protests.

The plea sought direction to the State and Central government to stop all violence against the protestors and remove all barricading and fortification etc. at once.

The farmers are peacefully protesting for their demand for the implementation of the recommendations of the Swaminathan committee as per their call for the protest for ‘Dilli Chalo’ on February 13, 2024, it said.

“The Respondent, Union and State governments, in anticipation of the protest by the farmer, issued threats against the people in participating in the protest, fortified the borders of the state around the city of Delhi, with iron spikes, concrete walls, etc. ensuring that farmers are not able to enter territory of the national capital,” the petition added.

The plea sought direction to the government to instruct relevant authorities to not cause hindrance in farmers’ peaceful march and gathering in the national capital.

Social media accounts should be unblocked and the right to free speech should not be curbed, the plea stated, adding that FIRs should be registered against this act of the government.

“Instruct relevant authorities to take immediate action against those who are defaming farmers and Sikhs, and hurling abuses, using derogatory terms and issuing threats,” the petition urged.

Thousands of farmers remain camped at Khanauri and Shambhu borders with their tractor-trolleys and trucks agitating for their demands, including a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops and farm debt waiver. (ANI)

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Supreme Court

Corruption, Bribery By Legislators Erode Probity In Public Life: SC

By LokMarg

The Supreme Court on Monday held that “corruption and bribery by members of the legislatures erode probity in public life” while overturning a previous ruling that offered immunity to lawmakers from charges of accepting bribes for casting votes or making speeches in Parliament or state legislatures.

The Supreme Court’s seven-judge Constitution Bench overruled the 1998 PV Narasimha Rao judgment case, which granted immunity to members of Parliament and members of the legislative assembly from prosecution for taking bribes for voting in Parliament or state assemblies.

“Corruption and bribery by members of the legislatures erode probity in public life,” the bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said. The other judges on the bench included Justices AS Bopanna, MM Sundresh, PS Narasimha, JB Pardiwala, Sanjay Kumar, and Manoj Misra.

The bench strongly opined that “the offence of bribery is agnostic to the performance of the agreed action and crystallises on the exchange of illegal gratification.”

“It does not matter whether the vote is cast in the agreed direction or if the vote is cast at all. The offence of bribery is complete at the point in time when the legislator accepts the bribe,” the court viewed.

Overruling the judgement given in the PV Narasimha Rao case, the court said that the interpretation given in that judgement is contrary to the text and purpose of Articles 105 and 194.

The interpretation placed in the judgment of the majority in the PV Narasimha Rao case (supra) results in a paradoxical outcome where a legislator is conferred with immunity when they accept a bribe and follow through by voting in the agreed direction, the court said, adding further that on the other hand, a legislator who agrees to accept a bribe, but eventually decides to vote independently will be prosecuted. “Such an interpretation is contrary to the text and purpose of Articles 105 and 194,” the court ruled.

“In the course of this judgment, while analysing the reasoning of the majority and minority in PV Narasimha Rao (supra) we have independently adjudicated on all the aspects of the controversy, namely, whether, by virtue of Articles 105 and 194 of the Constitution, a Member of Parliament or the Legislative Assembly, as the case may be, can claim immunity from prosecution on a charge of bribery in a criminal court. We disagree with and overrule the judgment of the majority on this aspect,” the top court ordered.

“The judgment of the majority in PV Narasimha Rao (supra), which grants immunity from prosecution to a member of the legislature who has allegedly engaged in bribery for casting a vote or speaking has wide ramifications on public interest, probity in public life and parliamentary democracy. There is a grave danger of this Court allowing an error to be perpetuated if the decision is not reconsidered,” the court observed.

“Unlike the House of Commons in the UK, India does not have ‘ancient and undoubted’ privileges which were vested after a struggle between Parliament and the King. Privileges in pre-independence India were governed by statute in the face of a reluctant colonial government. The statutory privilege transitioned to a constitutional privilege after the commencement of the Constitution,” the court said.

“An individual member of the legislature cannot assert a claim of privilege to seek immunity under Articles 105 and 194 from prosecution on a charge of bribery in connection with a vote or speech in the legislature. Such a claim to immunity fails to fulfil the two-fold test that the claim is tethered to the collective functioning of the House and that it is necessary to the

discharge of the essential duties of a legislator,” it added.

Articles 105 and 194 of the Constitution seek to sustain an environment in which debate and deliberation can take place within the legislature. This purpose is destroyed when a member is induced to vote or speak in a certain manner because of an act of bribery, the top court said.

The jurisdiction which is exercised by a competent court to prosecute a criminal offence and the authority of the House to take action for a breach of discipline in relation to the acceptance of a bribe by a member of the legislature exist in distinct spheres. The scope, purpose and consequences of the court exercising jurisdiction in relation to a criminal offence and the authority of the House to discipline its members are different, the top court said

“The potential of misuse against individual members of the legislature is neither enhanced nor diminished by recognizing the jurisdiction of the court to prosecute a member of the legislature who is alleged to have indulged in an act of bribery,” the court said. (ANI)

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Supreme Court

SC To Hear Uddhav’s Plea Against Maha Speaker’s Decision On March 7

By LokMarg

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear petition filed by Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena challenging the order of Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar on the dismissal of disqualification pleas against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde faction MLAs on March 7.

A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra posted the matter for hearing on March 7 after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Thackeray faction, mentioned it for an early hearing. Sibal urged the bench to list it on March 7.

“We will list it for hearing on March 7,” said the bench. It said several matters, which were to be listed on March 1, could not be accommodated in the list as the bench has to rise early.

The Thackeray faction’s plea was to be listed for hearing today.

In January, the Supreme Court issued notice to Shinde and 38 MLAs of his group on Sunil Prabhu’s (Thackeray faction) plea challenging the Speaker’s order.

The Shinde group had approached the Bombay High Court, challenging the refusal of the Speaker to disqualify the Uddhav Thackeray group and the High Court issued notice on the Shinde group’s petition.

In the apex court, along with the Maharashtra Speaker’s decision to not disqualify Shinde and his group, the Thackeray faction also challenged the order of the Speaker to recognise the Shinde faction as the ‘real Shiv Sena’ after its split in June 2022.

The Speaker’s decision came on January 10, nearly two years after Thackeray’s camp moved disqualification petitions against Shinde and his supporting legislators under the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law) of the Constitution.

Approaching the apex court against Maharashtra Speaker Narwekar’s decision dismissing the disqualification petitions against Shinde and 38 “rebel” Shiv Sena legislators, the Thackeray faction said the decision was a “colourable” exercise of power based on “extraneous and irrelevant” considerations.

Earlier, the top court had asked the Speaker to expeditiously decide the disqualification petitions pending before him.

The disqualification petitions against the rebel MLAs were filed by Sunil Prabhu, the Shiv Sena party whip appointed by Uddhav Thackeray, on June 23, 2022, after the MLAs revolted against Thackeray.

In May last year, a five-judge constitutional bench held that it could not disqualify the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government and reinstate Uddhav Thackeray as Chief Minister because the latter had chosen to resign instead of facing a test of strength in the Assembly.

In August 2022, the top court’s three-judge bench referred to a five-judge Constitution bench the issues involved in the petition filed by rival groups of Shiv Sena in relation to the Maharashtra political crisis.

On June 29, 2022, the top court gave a go ahead to the floor test in the Maharashtra Assembly on June 30. It had refused to stay the Maharashtra Governor’s direction to the then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to prove his majority support on the floor of the House on June 30.

After the apex court’s order, Uddhav Thackeray announced his resignation as the Chief Minister and Eknath Shinde was later sworn-in as the Chief Minister. (ANI)

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Arvind Kejriwal

Kejriwal Apologises In SC For Retweeting Defamatory Clip Of YouTuber

By LokMarg

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday submitted before the Supreme Court that retweeting the video which was allegedly defamatory and was circulated by YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in 2018, was a “mistake”.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta directed the trial court not to proceed with the defamation case against him for the time being.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief has approached the apex court, challenging the February 5 order of the Delhi High Court refusing to quash the summons issued against him. The High Court had said that reposting alleged libellous content would attract defamation law.

The summon was issued in a defamation complaint lodged against him for retweeting a video of a YouTuber on the social media platform ‘X’.

During the hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, told the apex court, “There is no problem in admitting that this was a mistake if he had known that these would be the consequences.”

Singhvi requested an adjournment before the trial court, saying that they were prosecuting Kejriwal swiftly.

“They are prosecuting him very fast. They are hotfooting it. We will request an adjournment before the trial court,” he said.

Justice Khanna said that Kejriwal need not appear in court for now, given the office he occupied.

The bench then asked the complainant in the case to take instructions on whether the case could be closed based on Kejriwal’s admitting to the mistake. The complainant’s advocate said he would take instructions from his client, and thereafter, the bench posted the matter for hearing on March 11.

“Relist on Monday, March 11. In the meantime, the matter will not be taken up by the trial court,” the bench stated in its order.

A defamation complaint was filed against Kejriwal for retweeting a video by a YouTuber in 2018 accusing the founder and operator of a Twitter page called ‘I Support Narendra Modi’ of behaving like ‘BJP IT CELL Part-II’. Kejriwal retweeted the tweet, which led to the founder filing a defamation complaint against the Chief Minister. (ANI)

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Arvind Kejriwal

Our MLAs Offered Rs 25 Crore Each: Kejriwal

By LokMarg

A day after going all out against the Centre in light of the Supreme Court order, overturning the verdict of the Chandigarh mayoral polls and calling it in favour of the AAP, the party’s national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, on Wednesday launched a blistering attack on the BJP, accusing them again of trying to induce his MLAs with big-money offers and topple elected governments in Opposition-ruled states.

Speaking on the floor of the Delhi Assembly on Wednesday, Kejriwal said, “Sometimes ‘Adharma’ (immorality) pervades the system to such an extent that we often wonder if truth and honesty have any place in society. Many good people lose their faith in the system and political class due to ‘
Adharma ka bolbala
‘ (free run of immorality). At such times, God restores our faith in the system and the virtues of honesty and probity by removing rotten elements. ‘
Charon taraf adharma ka bolbala hai
‘ (Everywhere one looks these days, immorality seems to be ruling the roost). Many have started to think that there is no sense in treading on the path of honesty and probity when those who indulged in wrong acts are conspiring against them.”

Coming out in support of former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who is currently behind bars in connection with the liquor policy case, the AAP national convenor said, “The man who is responsible for Delhi’s education system and putting it at par with the world’s best (Sisodia) is in jail and the one accused of misconduct with our daughters and sisters (former national wrestling federation chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh) is still out there wielding his political clout and influence.”

Repeating his charge against the ruling party at the Centre, that it was trying to topple elected governments in Opposition-ruled states, the Delhi CM said, “Our MLAs were offered Rs 25 crore (each by the BJP to switch sides). Everywhere you see, Opposition MLAs are being lured away and governments are being toppled. Be it Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra, the Northeast or Uttarakhand…everywhere one looks, elected MLAs are being lured away with black money.”

Notably, the Crime Branch of Delhi Police had issued notices to AAP chief Kejriwal and fellow party leader and minister Atishi at their homes in their absence in connection with their poaching charge at the BJP.

Responding to the Crime Branch notice, Kejriwal claimed it did not mention any FIR, adding that his party wouldn’t cower under such ‘theatrics’ and intimidatory tactics.

Veering to the Chandigarh mayoral polls, the AAP national chief said, “In Chandigarh, the BJP’s representative (presiding officer) manipulated the election results, to the extent that a candidate, who was leading initially by a significant margin, lost and the one who trailed came out eventually as the victor. Something similar played out in neighbouring Pakistan as well.”

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court declared Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Kuldeep Kumar, jointly supported by the Congress, as the winner of the Chandigarh mayoral polls.

The apex court ruled that the presiding officer had deliberately defaced eight ballots cast in favour of Kuldeep Kumar, rendering them invalid.

“The eight votes which were treated as invalid by making those markings… counting the eight votes for the petitioner (AAP candidate Kumar) will make him have 20 votes. We direct that the election result by the Returning Officer is quashed. The petitioner is declared to be the winner of the Chandigarh mayoral polls,” the bench stated in its order. (ANI)

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Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh

SC To Hear Subramanian’s Plea In April

By LokMarg

The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned the petition filed by BJP leader Subramaniam Swamy seeking to delete the words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ from the Preamble of the Indian Constitution.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Dutta posted the matter in the week commencing from April 29.

Swamy in his petition had said that the two words, inserted in the Preamble through the 42nd Constitution Amendment Act of 1976 during the Emergency, violated the basic structure doctrine enunciated in the famous Kesavananda Bharati judgment by the 13-judge bench in 1973, by which Parliament’s power to amend the Constitution was barred from tinkering with the basic features of the Constitution.

“The framers of the Constitution had specifically rejected the inclusion of these two words in the Constitution and alleged that these two words were thrust upon the citizens even when the framers never had intended to introduce socialist and secular concepts in democratic governance,” Swamy had contended.

It is argued that such insertion was beyond the amending power of the Parliament under Article 368.

It was further stated that Dr BR Ambedkar had rejected the incorporation of these words as the Constitution cannot thrust upon the citizens certain political ideologies by taking away their right to choose.

Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament and the Communist Party of India leader Binoy Viswam had also approached the Supreme Court opposing Swamy’s plea saying that ‘secularism and socialism’ are inherent and basic features of the Constitution.

“It is the intent of the plea filed by Swamy to have a free rein on Indian polity leaving behind secularism and socialism,” Viswam had said.

“Swamy’s petition is an absolute abuse of the process of law and is devoid of merit and deserves to be dismissed with exemplary costs as it challenges the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution of India,” the application of Viswam had stated.

The CPI MP in his impleadment application had said the real purpose behind the PIL is to allow political parties to seek votes in the name of religion.

“The 42nd amendment is challenged by the petitioner as an eyewash to succeed in striking down sub-section 5 of section 29(A) of the Representation of People’s Act, 1951,” the application had stated.

The section mandates the political parties seeking registration with the Election Commission to abide by the Constitution and its principles of “secularism, socialism and democracy”.

Another plea was also filed in the apex court seeking the deletion of ‘secularism and socialism’ from the preamble by lawyers Balram Singh and Karunesh Kumar Shukla. (ANI)

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Chandigarh Mayor elections

SC Raps Civic Poll Officer Who Held Chandigarh Mayor Elections

By LokMarg

The Supreme Court on Monday slammed the civic poll officer who held the Chandigarh Mayor elections and said that it is obvious that the Returning Officer has “defaced” the ballot papers.

“Is this the way he conducts the elections? This is a mockery of democracy. This is a murder of democracy. We are appalled. This man should be prosecuted. Is this the behaviour of the Returning Officer?” Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said.

The top Court further ordered the preservation of an entire record of the election process including ballot papers, videography and other material through the Registrar General of Punjab and Haryana High Court.

SC directed that the ensuing meeting of the Chandigarh Corporation shall be deferred till the next date of hearing.

Kuldeep Kumar, who lost Chandigarh mayoral election, has approached the apex court against High Court refusal’s to grant an immediate stay on election result in which Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate was declared the Mayor.

The BJP’s Manoj Sonkar was declared the Mayor of Chandigarh on January 30 after he won the mayoral polls with 16 votes against the 12 votes bagged by Congress-AAP candidate Kuldeep Tita. Eight votes were declared invalid.

Eight votes, which were declared invalid in the Chandigarh Mayoral polls, have led opposition leaders to raise allegations of rigging with Congress and AAP, attacking the BJP-led central government over the issue. (ANI)

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Bilkis Bano

Bilkis Bano Case: 3 Convicts Move SC For Extension Of Time To Surrender

By LokMarg

Three of the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case have approached the Supreme Court, seeking an extension of time to surrender before the jail authorities.

Senior Advocate V Chitambaresh, appearing for the three convicts, mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Justice BV Nagarathna, seeking urgent listing of the case, saying the time of surrender is expiring on January 21.

Justice Nagarathna said that the bench that passed the judgement in the Bilkis Bano case, comprising herself and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, has to hear the applications.

The apex court then directed its Registry to seek orders from the Chief Justice of India for the constitution of the bench and listing of the case on Friday.

Another counsel told the bench that another convict would also file applications during the day.

The applications have been filed by three convicts–Govindbhai Nai, Mitesh Chimanlal Bhatt, and Ramesh Rupabhai Chandana–who, among others, were granted remission by the Gujarat government in the gangrape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of her family members during the 2002 Godhra riots.

They were sentenced to life imprisonment but released in August 2022 after serving 14 years of sentence.

Govindbhai has sought an extension of time by four weeks to surrender, citing health issues and the fact that he is the only caretaker of his elderly parents.

Ramesh Rupabhai Chandana sought an extension of six weeks, citing health issues, harvesting of crops and his son’s marriage.

Mitesh Chimanlal Bhatt, 62, says he is an old senior citizen, has undergone eye surgery for a cataract and sought six weeks to surrender due to the impending harvest of crops.

On January 8, the Supreme Court struck down the Gujarat government’s order granting remission to 11 convicts.

It had quashed the Gujarat government’s remission order, by which convicts were released pre-maturely, and asked them to surrender before jail authorities within two weeks.

The bench had held that the Gujarat government was not competent to pass the remission orders but the Maharashtra government.

It held that the judgement of May 13, 2022, by which another bench of the apex court had directed the Gujarat government to consider remission of the convict as per the 1992 policy, was obtained by “playing fraud” on the court and by suppressing material facts.

The convicts had not approached the court with clean hands, said the bench, adding that proceedings before this court were due to “suppression of facts” and that is why it is fraud played on this court.

The judgement of the top court had come on a petition filed by Bilkis Bano and others challenging the premature release of 11 convicts.

Earlier, the Gujarat government, in its affidavit, defended the remission granted to convicts, saying they had completed a 14-year sentence in prison and their “behaviour was found to be good.”

In March 2002, during the post-Godhra riots, Bano was allegedly gang-raped and left to die with 14 members of her family, including her three-year-old daughter. She was five months pregnant when rioters attacked her family in Vadodara. (ANI)

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