Bilkis Bano Case: SC Issues Notice to Gujarat, Maharashtra on Convicts' Appeal

• Supreme Court issues notices to Gujarat and Maharashtra after two convicts in the Bilkis Bano case challenged their life sentences.
• Bipinchand Kanaiyalal Joshi and Pradip Ramanlal Modhiya filed a petition against their conviction for murder and gang rape.
• The petition challenges the May 4, 2017 Bombay High Court judgment that upheld the conviction and life imprisonment of 11 accused.
• The case is linked to the 2002 Gujarat riots, where Bilkis Bano, then pregnant, was gang-raped and her family members killed.
• The trial was transferred to Maharashtra, and a special court convicted all 11 accused; their remission by Gujarat was later set aside by SC.