On Monday, the Congress asserted that the Gujarat BJP government's approach was geared towards protecting the criminals rather than securing justice for the victim, following the Supreme Court's annulment of the remission granted to 11 convicts involved in the gangrape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of seven of her family members.
Human rights lawyer Anand Yagnik said the Gujarat government's decision (to grant remission to the convicts) was not in conformity with law but something that appeared to have been passed under certain social, religious and political pressure. With the Supreme Court's judgment, the rule of law has prevailed, he said.
Bilkis Bano was 21-years-old and five months pregnant when she was raped while fleeing the horror of the communal riots that broke out after the Godhra train-burning incident in 2002. Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members killed in the riots.All 11 convicts were granted remission by the Gujarat government and released on August 15, 2022.
On Monday, the Supreme Court nullified the Gujarat government's remission granted to the 11 convicts, citing that the orders were stereotyped and lacked proper consideration. The court directed the convicts to surrender to jail authorities within two weeks. It emphasized that the Gujarat government was not the appropriate authority to issue the remission order, clarifying that the state where the offenders were tried and sentenced, in this case, Maharashtra, holds the competence to decide on remission pleas for convicts.
Reacting to the SC's judgement, Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said the Gujarat BJP government does not appear to follow the law and the Constitution. It appears to work to save the culprits rather than get justice for victims, and this is very well proved by the Supreme Court's judgement, he claimed.
This is not the only instance, there have been many such cases where the government has shielded those who commit a crime rather than protect the victims, he further claimed. It is very unfortunate for the society, and people should ensure that the government runs as per the law. The government has failed to ensure justice for the victim of such a heinous crime, Doshi said.
Yagnik, the senior lawyer of the Gujarat High Court, said, In the first place, the rules which are applicable for remission do not allow the government to remit sentence to those convicts who are responsible for rape, murder and such heinous crimes.