New Delhi: The Supreme Court has refused to extend the time for surrender of the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case who have been out on remission. Now, they have to surrender as per the original deadline on Sunday, January 21, following the Supreme Court’s ruling.“The reasons cited by applicants to seek postponement of surrender and report back to jail have no merit in as much as those reasons in no way prevent them from complying with our directions,” a Bench of Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan said, according to India Today.Earlier, citing various reasons, including health and family responsibilities, 10 of the 11 convicts had moved the Supreme Court seeking more time to surrender. The top court, agreeing to hear their pleas, had clubbed all of their petitions.The deadline for their surrender expires on Sunday, January 21. The court had said it would hear their petitions once the Bench that scrapped their remission on January 8 is reconstituted by the chief justice.“Since the bench has to be reconstituted, registry to seek orders from the Chief Justice of India (CJI) for reconstitution of the Bench as the time (to surrender) expires on Sunday,” the top court had said, according to the Hindustan Times.On January 8, a Bench of Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan had scrapped the remission of the convicts and ordered them to surrender in two weeks. The Bench had then said the Gujarat government by executing remission had “usurped” the power of the government in Maharashtra, where the matter is being adjudicated. It had also pulled the Gujarat government noting that the remission was granted by “playing fraud” on the court.Till Thursday, January 18 evening, 10 of the 11 convicts had moved the court separately. They sought more time for surrender, on the account of meeting family responsibilities, caring for aged parents, harvesting of winter crops, and health conditions.Nine of the 11 convicts namely Chandana, Mitesh Chimanlal Bhatt, Pradip Ramanlal Modhiya, Bipinchand Kaniyalal Joshi, Radheyshyam Bhagwandas Shah, Rajubhai Babulal Soni, Jaswantbhai Chaturbhai Nai, Kesharbhai Khimabhai Vohania and Shaileshbhai Chimanlal Bhatt sought an additional six weeks to surrender. For his part, Govindbhai Nai has sought an extra time of four weeks.“As the winter crops produced by the applicant are ready for harvesting and other processes, the applicant needs five to six weeks for such harvesting and other processes to be completed,” Mitesh Bhatt said in his application filed on Wednesday night, according to the HT report.Another convict Chandana (58) cited health issues, saying that he had recently undergone an angiogram and is on medication. “In this condition to surrender within time directed by this court will be adverse not only to his mental health but will affect him physically severely,” he said.Similar reasons have been cited by another convict Joshi, who says that he had a leg surgery recently, which according to him, makes him partially handicapped. Modhiya said he had undergone lung surgery recently.Some of the convicts also cited marriageable-age children as a reason for seeking more time to surrender. They say if they are given additional time they would be in a position to discharge their responsibilities as a family member. Some even cited their aged parents and their medical condition as a reason for seeking more time. A couple of them also said their families are dependent on agriculture, hence it would be better for them to be with the families when the upcoming winter crop is harvested.
