Plea against remission in Bilkis Bano case politically motivated, convict tells SC

A convict in the Bilkis Bano case has questioned before the Supreme Court maintainability of a plea by former MP Subhashini Ali and others against his release on remission, saying they filed a "politically motivated and speculative petition" without having any locus standi.

The response by Radheyshyam Bhagwandas Shah, one of the 11 convicts, said if such types of third party petitions are entertained by this court, it would not only unsettle the settled position of law but would also open flood gates, allowing any member of the public to jump in any criminal matter before any court of law.

"This court not only on the ground of locus and maintainability but also on the ground of such speculative and politically motivated petition should dismiss the said petition with heavy hand and imposed an exemplary cost so that such political motivated petition by strangers should not be encouraged in future by others,” it said.

Read | Bilkis Bano case: SC asks Gujarat govt to produce records on remission of 11 convicts

The convict also cited the SC's judgements in Janata Dal Vs H S Chowdhary, (1992), Simranjit Singh Mann Vs UOI, (1992) and Subramanian Swamy Vs Raju, (2013) in which the court said that a third party, a total stranger to the prosecution, has no ‘locus standi’ in criminal matters and has no right whatsoever in filing a petition under Article 32 of the Constitution.

"The case in hand cannot be made a complete departure from the settled proposition of law... and that too by a stranger to the prosecution," the convict through advocate Rishi Malhotra said.

He also pointed out, "Interestingly enough, neither the State nor the victim nor even the complainant has approached this court."

The convicts also referred to the judgement of this court on May 13, 2022 in which the top court asked the Gujarat government to consider his plea for remission as per policy prevalent at the time of conviction.

"Moreover, the present petition is nothing but a grossest abuse in as much as on one hand the petitioner pleads that she does not have the copy of the remission order and yet without ascertaining the reasons for grant of remission the said order has been assailed with a further prayer that such order of remission should be quashed," it said.

CPI(M)'s former MP Ali, journalist Revati Laul and Prof Roop Rekha Verma filed the plea against remission granted to 11 convicts.

Among others, TMC MP Mahua Moitra has also filed a separate petition against the August 15 order by the state government to released the convicts on completion of more than 15 years in jail.