SC rejects Gujarat govt's plea seeking review of verdict over certain observations

In a significant decision, the Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a petition submitted by the Gujarat government requesting a review of its earlier judgment, which included critical remarks about the state while overturning the remission granted to 11 men convicted of raping Bilkis Bano and killing seven of her family members during the 2002 riots.

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The bench, comprising Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan, also denied the request to hear the review petition in an open court. The court maintained that there was no error in its previous judgement, stating: "Having carefully gone through the Review Petition, the order under challenge, and the papers annexed therewith, we are satisfied that there is no error apparent on the face of the record or any merit in the Review Petition, warranting reconsideration of the order impugned. The Review Petition is, accordingly, dismissed.”

The Gujarat government had contested the Supreme Court’s observation in its January 8 judgement, which held the state guilty of “usurpation of power” and “abuse of discretion” in granting remission to the convicts. According to the state, the top court’s ruling was an “error apparent on the face of the record,” based on three primary grounds.