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Supreme Court upholds conviction of two docs, four cops in Bilkis Bano case

by IBNS 10 Jul 2017, 10:56 pm

New Delhi, Jul 11 (IBNS) : Dismissing the appeal of two doctors and four policemen the Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld their conviction by the Bombay High Court in connection with the 2002 Bilkis Bano gang-rape and murder case, reports said.

A bench of Justice S A Bobde and Justice L Nageswara Rao said the convicts were rightly held guilty by the High Court after being "unreasonably acquitted" by the trial court in the case despite there being clear-cut evidence against them. 

The Bombay High Court had on May four reversed the trial court verdict acquitting the accused, including senior police officer R S Bhagora, and convicted  them.  

The High Court bench had convicted seven persons - five policemen and two doctors - under sections 218 (not performing their duties) and section 201 (tampering of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The apex court had on May 30 refused to stay the conviction of Bhagora. One of the convicts is dead.

The CBI had filed  an appeal in the High Court seeking harsher punishment of death for three of the convicted persons on the ground that they were the main perpetrators of the crime during the post-Godhra Gujarat pogrom.