Bilkis Bano case: Supreme Court raps Gujarat govt over ‘selective’ remission to accused

The Supreme Court of India told the Gujarat government that a state should not be ‘selective’ in granting remission to their prisoners. This was said in relation to the eleven accused of gangraping Bilkis Bano during the 2002 Gujarat Riots. 

The eleven convicts in the 2002 Gujarat communal Riots were granted premature release in 2022. The state had argued that they criminals should be given a chance to reform.

The observation was made in  response to a submission by Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the Gujarat government, that law says a chance must be given to even the hardened criminals to reform themselves.

The law officer submitted the crime committed by the 11 convicts was "heinous" but does not fall in the rarest of rare category.

"Therefore, they deserve the chance of reformation. Person may have committed the offence...Something may have gone wrong in a particular moment. Later, he can always realise the consequences.

"This can largely be determined from their conduct in jail, when released on parole, or furlough. All these show they have realised what they had done is wrong. Law is not that everyone should be punished perpetually. Chance should be given for reformation," Raju said.

A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan wanted to know how far the law is being applied to other inmates in jail.

"Why are our jails overcrowded? Why is the the policy of remission being applied selectively?

Commenting on the remission policy of states, the bench said the question is whether the policy of premature release is being implemented uniformly in all cases in respect of all those who have completed 14 years and are eligible for it.

"On the other hand, we have cases like Rudul Shah. Even though there was an acquittal, he continued to remain in prison. Extreme cases, both this side and that side," the bench said.

Rudul Shah was arrested for his wife's murder in 1953 and was in jail for many years, in spite of his acquittal by a sessions court in June 3, 1968. He was finally released in 1982.

The hearing in the case will resume on 24 August. 

Besides the petition filed by Bilkis Bano contesting the remission granted to them, several other PILs including one by CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali, independent journalist Revati Laul and former vice-chancellor of Lucknow University Roop Rekha Verma have challenged the remission. Moitra has also filed a PIL against the remission.

Bilkis Bano was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was gang-raped while fleeing the horror of the communal riots that broke out after the Godhra train-burning incident. Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members killed in the riots.

(With inputs from PTI)