Bilkis: New bench to hear plea against remission

One-liner: The SC will hear pleas by Bilkis Bano, who was gang-raped during the 2002 Gujarat riots, against the remission of the sentence of 11 convicts in the case on March 27.

Bench's assurance: The bench earlier assured Bano, represented through her lawyer Shobha Gupta, that a special bench will be formed to hear the plea.

Hearing not held: Earlier, on Jan 24, the hearing on Bano's plea challenging the remission of sentence of 11 convicts in the gang-rape case by the Gujarat govt could not be held in the top court as the judges concerned were hearing a matter related to passive euthanasia as part of a five-judge Constitution bench.

Separate petition: Besides the plea challenging the release of the convicts, the gang rape survivor had also filed a separate petition seeking a review of the apex court's May 13, 2022, order on a plea by a convict.

Flashback: Seven members of Bilkis Bano's family were also killed during the 2002 Gujarat riots. All 11 convicts were granted remission by the Gujarat govt and released on Aug 15, last year. Bano's review plea against the May 13, 2022, order, however, was dismissed by the top court in Dec last year.