'How is this plea maintainable?': Supreme Court rejects convicts' petition in Bilkis Bano case

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court dismissed a plea on Friday filed by two of the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case, who challenged the January 8 verdict that cancelled their remission, calling it "absolutely misconceived".

Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kumar questioned how they could sit in appeal over an order passed by another bench of the apex court.

"What is this plea? How is this plea maintainable? This is absolutely misconceived. How can an Article 32 petition be filed? We can't sit in appeal over an order passed by another bench," the bench said.

Radheyshaym Bhagwandas Shah and Rajubhai Babulal Soni, the convicts, were represented by advocate Rishi Malhotra, who requested permission to withdraw the plea, which the bench granted. Shah has also applied for interim bail.

Both convicts approached the apex court in March, arguing that the January 8 verdict cancelling their sentence remission was "in the teeth of" a 2002 Constitution bench order. They sought the issue to be referred to a larger bench for a final decision.
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