Bilkis Bano case: Some convicts more privileged: Apex court

New Delhi, September 14

There are some convicts who are “more privileged”, the Supreme Court (SC) said on Thursday while hearing Bilkis Bano’s petition challenging the premature release of 11 men convicted of raping her and killing seven of her family members during the 2002 post-Godhra Gujarat riots.

“There are some convicts who are more privileged in getting these benefits,” a Bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan told senior counsel Siddharth Luthra, who represented convict Ramesh Rupabhai Chandana.

The court’s comments came after Luthra submitted that the grant of remission for reformation and rehabilitation of the convicts was a “settled position internationally” and the argument of Bilkis Bano and others that the convict cannot be granted remission due to heinous nature of the crime can’t be invoked now after the state government has already taken the decision regarding him, who has spent 15 years in jail. “We understand the concept of remission. This is well-accepted. But here, they (victim and others) are questioning this in the present case,” the Bench told Luthra. It asked him to assist it by providing judgements delivered on petitions challenging remission as usually cases were filed against denial of such relief.

“The other side says retribution or deterrence and nothing less. That, in my opinion, is not an argument that can be made at this stage… the grant of remission cannot be approached through a punitive attitude. This is not in line with the policy of Indian law,” Luthra told the Bench which will resume hearing on September 20. — TNS