Quite disappointing
Bilkis Bano Case | ‘Abuse of power by Gujarat govt’: What the Supreme Court said, in 10 points
The Supreme Court on Monday nullified the Gujarat government’s decision to grant remission to 11 convicts involved in the gangrape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 riots in the state.
The bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan deemed the PIL challenging the remission admissible and stated that the Gujarat government did not have the authority to issue the remission order.
Bilkis Bano, aged 21 and five months pregnant at the time, was raped while escaping the turmoil of the communal riots following the Godhra train-burning incident. Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members who lost their lives in the riots.
All 11 convicts had been granted remission by the Gujarat government and subsequently released on August 15, 2022.
🔴 The Supreme Court stated that its May 2022 order another bench asking the Gujarat government to decide on remission based on the 1992 policy, was obtained by concealing facts and perpetrating fraud upon the court.
Since prison is a state subject, state governments have powers under Section 432 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to remit sentences. Read our Explainer about what is the law on remission of sentences of convicts here.
🔴 The court wondered why the Gujarat Government had not filed any application seeking a review of the May 13, 2022, order as it was not the appropriate government.
🔴 The court said it was a classic case where the order of the SC has been used for violating the rule of law for passing orders for remission.
🔴 The Supreme Court stated that the Gujarat government had no jurisdiction to consider the application for remission or issue remission orders in the Bilkis case because it wasn’t the appropriate government to do so.
🔴 The Court said that the authority to decide on remission lies with the state in which the accused were sentenced, rather than the state in whose territorial limits the offence occurred or where the accused were imprisoned.
🔴 The apex court also slammed the Gujarat government for passing remission orders of convicts without application of mind in the rape case of Bilkis Bano, the murder of her family.
🔴 The court said that the Gujarat government usurped the power vested in the Maharashtra government to pass orders of remission. It therefore quashed the orders for remission on grounds of usurpation and abuse of power by the Gujarat government.
🔴 The court also rejected the prayer of the convicts to protect their liberty and directed them to report to jail authorities in two weeks.
🔴 The SC said that the public interest litigations (PILs) challenging the early release of convicts in the case were maintainable since Bilkis had also filed an Article 32 plea and that sufficed.
— with PTI, ENS inputs
Express Web Desk – 2024-01-08 11:56