Bilkis Bano Case: Gujarat HC Grants 10-Day Parole to Convict Ramesh

The Gujarat High Court has approved a 10-day parole for Ramesh Chandana, a convict in the Bilkis Bano case, allowing him to attend his nephew’s wedding on March 5.

Chandana, who filed for parole last week, becomes the second convict in the case to receive such relief, following the surrender of all 11 convicts at a jail in Godhra town on January 21, pursuant to a Supreme Court order. The convictions stem from a case involving the gang rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 Godhra riots.

Justice Divyesh Joshi, in his order stated, “By this application, the convict-applicant prays for parole leave on the grounds of attending the marriage ceremony of the son of his sister. Taking into consideration the grounds urged in this application, the applicant-accused is ordered to be released on parole leave for a period of ten days.”

A bench of Justice Divyesh Joshi in his order stated, “By this application, the convict-applicant prays for parole leave on the grounds of attending the marriage ceremony of the son of his sister. Taking into consideration the grounds urged in this application, the applicant-accused is ordered to be released on parole leave for a period of ten days.”

According to the Gujarat government’s affidavit submitted before the Supreme Court, Chandana has previously enjoyed parole for 1,198 days and furlough for 378 days since his incarceration in 2008.

Previously, Pradip Modhiya, another convict in the case, was granted parole from February 7 to 11 after the high court approved his plea.

In August 2022, 11 convicts serving life sentences were granted premature release from jail under the state government’s 1992 policy, citing their ‘good conduct’ during imprisonment. However, on January 8, the Supreme Court overturned the remission of sentence for all 11 convicts, ruling that the state government lacked jurisdiction to grant premature release, as the trial in the 2002 case took place in Maharashtra. Consequently, the convicts, who were released from Godhra district jail on Independence Day in 2022 after serving 14 years in prison, were ordered to return to jail within two weeks.