The Supreme Court on Thursday sought responses from the Centre and the Gujarat government in response to a petition objecting to the remission granted to 11 life convicts in the case of Bilkis Bano’s gangrape and murder of her family members.
The Center and the state government were given notice on the argument by a bench presided over by Chief Justice N V Ramana, who also requested that the petitioners name the people who had received remission as parties in the case. The apex court also posted the matter for hearing after two weeks.
However, the bench asked about the legal prohibition on granting remission to the convicts, Live Law reported.
“Merely because the act was horrific, is that sufficient to say remission is wrong?” Justice Rastogi asked Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for the petitioners.
“Day in and day out remission is granted to convicts of life sentence, what is the exception (in this case),” he further asked.
The remission and consequent release of 11 convicts on August 15 this year from the Godhra sub-jail under the Gujarat BJP government’s remission policy has sparked widespread outrage among civil society especially in the Muslim community, on giving relief to convicted rapists and murderers.
The plea in the apex court has been filed by CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali, journalist Revathy Laul and activist Roop Rekha Rani.
Bilkis Bano was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was gangraped while fleeing the anti-Muslim genocide that broke out in Gujarat in 2002. Among those murdered was her three-year-old daughter.
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