On January 8, the Supreme Court issued an order for the prisoners to appear before the jail administration in two weeks.
Govindhbhai Nai, a prisoner in the Bilkis Bano gang rape case, has petitioned the Supreme Court to be given an extra four weeks to turn himself in to the relevant jail authorities.
Nai and ten other prisoners were given a two-week deadline by the Supreme Court to turn themselves in to the jail administration on January 8.
In his appeal for an extension, Nai mentioned his poor health as well as his household duties.
Nai’s father is reliant on him and confined to bed, according to the appeal.
In addition, he disclosed that he recently had an angiography and still needs to have another procedure to treat “haemorrhoids.”
The eleven defendants in front of the supreme court were found guilty of killing Bilkis Bano’s family members and raping her during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
These prisoners were freed early from prison on August 14, 2023, the eve of Independence Day, without having to serve out the remainder of their term.
Following a May 2022 ruling by the Supreme Court holding that a remission application should be reviewed in accordance with the policies of the State where the crime was committed—Gujarat in this case—rather than the State where the trial was held, the Gujarat government approved the remission of their sentence.
Even though the case’s trial was held in Maharashtra, the Gujarati government used its remission policy in accordance with that ruling to free the guilty.
Several petitioners, including Bano, contested the Gujarat government’s judgement before the highest court.
On January 8, a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan of the Supreme Court invalidated the remission that the Gujarati government had given them. It came to the conclusion that the Gujarati government lacked the authority to grant these eleven prisoners remission under its policy.
Thus, it ordered all eleven to turn themselves in within two weeks.
Update: Two more prisoners have petitioned the Supreme Court to extend their deadline for turning themselves in.
Ramesh Rupabhai Chandana, a convicted felon, has requested an additional six weeks to extend his sentence, citing the need to marry his son and meet his obligations.
In addition, convicted felon Mitesh Chimanlal Bhat has requested a six-week extension, claiming that his winter produce is ready for harvesting and that he would prefer to finish the process before turning himself in.