Bilkis Bano case: Gujarat defends premature release of 11 convicts
New Delhi, August 17
The Gujarat Government on Thursday defended the premature release of 11 men convicted of raping Bilkis Bano and killing her family members during the 2002 riots, saying convicts were entitled to reformation.
Describing the crime committed by the 11 convicts as “heinous”, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, however, said it didn’t fall in the ‘rarest of rare’ category.
“Therefore, they deserve the chance of reformation. A person may have committed an 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 did was wrong. Law is not that everyone should be punished perpetually. Chance should be given for reformation,” Raju – who represented the Gujarat Government – told a Bench led by Justice BV Nagarathna.
The Bench said state governments should not be selective in granting remission to convicts and the opportunity to reform and reintegrate with society should be given to every prisoner.
It sought to know how far the law was being applied to other inmates in jail.
“Why are our jails overcrowded? Why is the policy of remission being applied selectively? Opportunity to reform and reintegrate must be given to every prisoner, not only to a few prisoners. But how far is remission policy being implemented where the convicts have completed 14 years? Is it being applied in all cases?” Justice Nagarathna asked.
The Bench—which wanted to know if the policy of premature release was being applied uniformly in all cases in which convicts have completed 14 years in jail and were eligible to take its benefit, will resume the hearing on August 24.
“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 top court said.
Arrested for his wife’s murder in 1953, Rudul Shah remained in jail for several years even after his acquittal by a sessions court in June 1968 and was finally released in 1982.
Noting that remission policy varied from state to state, Raju said all states will have to answer this question.
The ASG questioned the opinion given by the CBI on remission of the sentence of the 11 convicts, saying it showed there was no application of mind.
Bilkis Bano, pregnant at the time of crime, was gang-raped and her three-year-old daughter Saleha and 13 others were killed by a mob on March 3, 2002 in Dahod during violence that broke out in Gujarat after the Sabarmati Express was attacked in Godhra and 59 ‘kar sevaks’, were burnt to death.
The 11 convicts prematurely released were Jaswant Nai, Govind Nai, Shailesh Bhatt, Radhyesham Shah, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Pradeep Mordhiya, Bakabhai Vohania, Rajubhai Soni, Mitesh Bhatt and Ramesh Chandana. They were released on August 15, 2022 due to completion of 15 years in prison, besides their age and behaviour during incarceration, it was said.
The Supreme Court had handed over the probe to the CBI and the trial was shifted to Mumbai where a Sessions Court in 2008 convicted 11 accused of gang rape and murder and awarded life imprisonment to them. Later, the conviction was upheld by the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court.
