The Supreme Court on Monday cancelled its May 2022 order – delivered by Justice Ajay Rastogi (retired) – which allowed the 11 men who raped Bilkis Bano, and murdered her family, during the 2002 Godhra riots, to appeal to the Gujarat government for early remission, which was granted.

The court said the order was “obtained through fraudulent means and suspension of facts” and rebuked the state for not filing a petition to review the convicts’ release. It said the Gujarat government should have noted the convicts could only be released by Maharashtra, where they were tried.

“By suppressing material facts and making misleading facts, a direction was sought by a convict to the state of Gujarat to consider remission. There was no direction from this court to the Gujarat government to consider remission. This is a fraud act…” the court said.

READ | Bilkis Bano’s Rapists’ Release Cancelled: What Supreme Court Said

The 11 convicts have been given two weeks to return to jail.

READ | 11 Convicts In Bilkis Bano Gang-Rape Case To Surrender Within 2 Weeks

The court was referring to its hearing of a writ petition by one of the convicts – Radheyshyam Bhagwandas Shah – after the Gujarat High Court, in July 2019, refused his appeal to the state to decide on his remission. Under the law, he was required to appeal before the court, which somehow both accepted the writ petition and directed the Gujarat government to decide on the remission plea.

READ | “Gujarat Not Competent To…”: Bilkis Bano’s Rapists To Return To Jail

The convict had approached Maharashtra but filed his petition before that state could take a call.

In August too a bewildered Supreme Court  had questioned its May 2022 order.

READ | “Gujarat Government On Thin Ice”: Supreme Court In Bilkis Bano Case

The convicts were released by the Gujarat government on Independence Day in 2022 on the basis of an obsolete law. This was after it consulted a panel that included men linked to the ruling BJP.

The panel declared the rapists and killers were “sanskari Brahmins”, and they were released citing a 1992 remission policy; this has since been superseded by a law barring releases in capital offence cases.

LIVE COVERAGE | Supreme Court’s Big Order In Bilkis Bans Case

The convicts were given a hero’s welcome and were seen sharing stage with a BJP MP and MLA.

Bilkis Bano was 21 and five months’ pregnant when she was gang-raped while fleeing during the communal riots that broke out after the fire in Sabarmati Express in which 59 kar sevaks were killed. Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members slaughtered in the riots.

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This week, veteran actresses Zeenat Aman and Neetu Kapoor are all set to grace the couch of Karan Johar’s talk show.

In the promo, Neetu Kapoor introduces Zeenat Aman as the “style aur sexiness ki dukaan” and Zeenat Aman in turn describes Neetu as “lovely and vivacious.”

In the promo, during the rapid-fire round, Karan questions Neetu about a Bollywood heartthrob from her era who was her secret crush. Surprisingly, Neetu names Shashi Kapoor – Rishi Kapoor’s uncle. This revelation leaves Karan amused, and he jokingly asks, “You had a crush on your uncle?” to which Neetu responds with a simple “yes”.

Karan asked about Zeenat Aman’s personal life and asked her to disclose the wildest thing she did in the 70s. The experienced actress admitted, “I really did not party but when the floodgates burst, they really did.” She chose not to comment when Karan inquired about a specific man entering her life during that time.

Neetu also shared a hilarious incident involving Zeenat. She said, “She (Zeenat) goes to the mandir and she shuts her button and says, ‘Hey bhagwan mujhe maaf kardena humare yaha mandir jane ka system he nahi hai.’”

Neetu Kapoor and Zeenat Aman shared the screen in Yaadon Ki Baraat, Dharam Veer, Heera Lal Panna Lal and more.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Zeenat will soon be seen in Manish Malhotra’s Bun Tikki, co-starring Shabana Azmi and Abhay Deol.

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In an interview, Vijay Sethupathi shared his disappointment regarding the non-selection of Super Deluxe as India’s official entry to the Oscars. Despite the film’s national and international acclaim, including his own National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor, it was passed over in favour of Gully Boy, starring Ranveer Singh.

Expressing his feelings during the promotion of his upcoming film Merry Christmas, Vijay mentioned feeling shattered by the decision. He refrained from delving into the reasons behind it, attributing the outcome to politics in the film industry. Regardless of his involvement, Vijay emphasised that he would have wished for Super Deluxe to represent India at the Oscars due to its merit.

Super Deluxe, released in 2019 and directed by Thiagarajan Kumararaja, features a narrative entwining four different stories on a single day. With a stellar cast including Fahadh Faasil, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Ramya Krishnan, the movie garnered 19 wins out of 33 nominations, securing accolades like Best Movie of the Year at the Critics’ Choice Film Awards and Best Actor at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.

Vijay Sethupathi, primarily recognised for his work in Tamil cinema, has also ventured into Bollywood. Following his role as an antagonist in Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan, he’s set for the release of Merry Christmas, co-starring Katrina Kaif.