Celebration of "Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav" via Premature Release of 11 Convicts in Bilkis Bano Gangrape Case in Supreme Court: An Update

[Sukla Sen]

The game is all too obvious.

The convicts, the state government and the union government, all together, are applying all the tricks that they can employ in order to delay -- so that the matter eventually goes to another bench.

This bench is well aware and yet helpless.

<<The Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred to May 9 the hearing on a batch of pleas challenging the remission granted to the 11 convicts last year in the case of gangrape of Bilkis Bano and murder of her family members during the 2002 post-Godhra riots.

...

''We are only fixing timelines, so that whichever court takes up the matter, it will not have to waste time on these procedural issues. I am retiring during vacation on June 16. My last working day will be on May 19. My sister (Justice Nagarathna) will be going to attend a conference in Singapore till May 25. If all of you agree, then we can sit during vacation and finish hearing this case,'' Justice Joseph said.

...

Advocate Shobha Gupta said that the matter will take a very short time as only the question of law needs to be decided.

Justice Joseph told Gupta, ''It is apparent from the way counsel appearing for convicts that they do not want this hearing to take place. Every time the matter will be called up, one person or the other will come and say that he needs time to file a reply. It is more than obvious''. [Emphasis added.] However, the bench said that the new bench will take up the matter for hearing in the second week of July. Senior advocate Siddharth and advocate Rishi Malhotra, appearing for the convicts, said what was the "tearing hurry" in hearing the case after counsel for Bano and others requested that the matter be taken up before vacation.

...

On April 18, the top court questioned the Gujarat government over the remission granted to the 11 convicts last year, saying the gravity of the offence should have been considered and asked whether there was any application of mind.

Asking for reasons for the premature release of the convicts, the top court had also questioned the parole granted to them during their incarceration period. ''It(remission) is a kind of grace which should be proportional to crime.'' The Centre and the Gujarat government had also told the court they may file a plea seeking a review of its March 27 order asking them to be ready with original files on the grant of remission.>>

(Excerpted from: <https://www.oneindia.com/india/centre-gujarat-agree-to-produce-files-on-the-grant-of-remission-of-bilkis-bano-convicts-3555000.html>.)

[sukl...@gmail.com]

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