And it was here that I met Bilkis Bano first in early March, soon after the ghastly crimes committed on her and then on March 22, 2002, again. I then recorded this interview which was published in the seminal issue of Commumalism Combat, ”Genocide” Gujarat 2002.

She recounted her tale haltingly but firm, as tears did not stop welling up as the account progressed and she recalled what the “mob” had done to her precious three year old Saleha, the unborn child in her womb (she was pregnant at the time), her mother and her sister. She has, by then already sent her complaint, in writing, to the Superintendent of Police (SP) Godhra, then one Rajiv Bhargava. She even provided us with a copy of the written complaint to the SP.

I recorded the interview dispassionately, reproducing the words she uttered, in Gujarati and Hindi, both languages I understand.

Today, January 9, 2024, a day after the Supreme Court’s historic verdict in quashing the remission order that allowed 11 men –powerfully connected to the regime in Delhi and Gandhinagar (Gujarat)—to walk free on August 15, 2022, I turned the pages of my diaries, documents and files, pages that go back 22 years.

As a writer and student of the law, a profession and process that witnesses fewer successes and more failures on the question of substantive justice delivery,  I felt the need to reproduce that account, in the first person by Bilkis Rasool Shaikh made before me at the Godhra Relief Camp on March 22, 2022.

For the record, Justice JS Verma, then Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and former Chief Justice of India (CJI) was also present at the Godhra Relief Camp the same day. The NHRC report on Gujarat 2002 (Interim report, April 2002 and Final Report July 2002) remains the most accurate and scathing indictment of the then state government in its failure to ensure the Indian constitutional mandate, its complicity in allowing innocent lives of women, men and children, and their dignity to be snatched away. By mobs of men who enjoyed political cover and impunity.

Saluts Bilkis Bano!

Panchmahal

Place: Randhikpur, Panchmahal district
Witness: Bilkees (19-year-old). Rabia, her neighbour and relative, was with her at the time of the interview. (Interviewed by Teesta Setalvad at Godhra Relief Camp on March 22)

“On the highway just outside the village we were set upon by a mob and 14 persons from my family were butchered and killed — 7 from my father’s family and 7 from my in-laws’ side. All the women and young girls, including my 3 1/2 -year-old baby, were…….. before being killed. They did the same thing to me, and if I am alive, it is only because after attacking me, they left me, thinking I was dead.

“My aunt, my mother, my three sisters all met with the same fate. I am 5-6 months pregnant. My husband and in-laws were away for Id. My husband came to meet me yesterday. All the other villagers, including Rabia’s family, had fled the day before, but we stayed behind because my aunt’s daughter was about to deliver. That delay has cost us everything. I have filed a complaint with the police but I don’t know whether I will get justice.

Bilkees’ FIR, addressed to the DSP, Dahod, reads:

“I, the complainant, am married to Yakub Rasul Patel, resident of Kapdi falia, Baria. We had a daughter named Saleha who was aged 3 ½ years. My mother’s home is in Randhikpur taluka, Dahod.

“On February 23, it being Id, I had gone with my little girl to my mother’s home. On February 27, because of the incident at Godhra Railway station, there was tension and violence in the surrounding villages. In order to save our lives, at about 10 o’clock in the morning on February 28, a total of 16 people from our house — I, my two sisters and two brothers, our mother, my little girl, my maternal uncle, my paternal aunt and her husband and their daughters — left Randhikpur for Baria on foot. As we came to know that there was violence everywhere on the way, we stopped at Bijal Damor in Chuddi village. Around midnight, we went and hid in Kuvajar mosque.

“The daughter of my paternal aunt who was pregnant, gave birth to a girl. Around 10 o’clock the next morning, we went to Khudra and stayed with Adivasis for two days. After two days, early in the morning, we came to Chhaparwad. We were walking down a kutcha road to save our lives.

“While passing between two hills, two vehicles came in the direction of Chhaparwad and Randhikpur, with 30-40 people in them. This included Shailesh Bhat, Raju Soni, Lala doctor, Govind Nana, Jaswant Navi, Lalo Vakil, who is the son of Bhagu Kuverji and Kesar Khima, Baka Khima Vasava. All of them are from Randhikpur so we recognised them. The others were from Chhaparwad, whose names we did not know, but whom I would recognise if I see them.

“All had lethal weapons in their hands — swords, spears, scythes, sticks, daggers, bows and arrows. They started screaming, “Kill them, Cut them up!’ They raped my two sisters and me and behaved in an inhuman way with my uncle and aunt’s daughters. They tore our clothes and raped eight of us. Before my very eyes they killed my 3 ½-year-old daughter.

“The people who raped me are Shailesh Bhatt, Lala doctor, Lala Vakil and Govind Navi, all of whom I know very well. After raping me, they beat me up. Having been injured in the head, I fainted. They left, assuming I was dead.

“After two to three hours, when I regained consciousness, on seeing the corpses of my family members, I was terrified. I climbed up the hill and stayed there the whole night.

“In the morning, when the police came to know about this attack, they came to take the corpses and found me alive. As all my clothes were torn, they brought me some clothes from the house of an Adivasi staying at the foot of the hill. Then they brought me to Limkheda and from there I was brought to the relief camp at Godhra.

“The above-mentioned people raped my deceased sisters and me, as well as the daughters of my maternal uncle and my paternal aunt. They killed all the people except myself. For which reason I say that legal action should be taken against the above-mentioned people.”

The deceased: 15 of a family butchered. All women victims, including a 3 1/2 -year-old baby, raped before being killed. Among those named by Bilkis Bano orally included  Shailesh Bhat, Raju Soni, Lala doctor, Govind Nana, Jaswant Navi, Lalo Vakil, who is the son of Bhagu Kuverji and Kesar Khima, Baka Khima Vasava (all from Randhikpur).

Facts from the prosecution case:

On that fateful day of the targeted crimes, after remaining unconscious for some time Bilkis got up and found her petticoat and put on it and climbed the hill. She stayed overnight on the hill and came down to a hand pump where one Adivasi woman gave her blouse and Odhani, Thereafter, on seeing a man in police uniform she went to him who took her to Limkheda Police Station where police head constable Somabhai – A – 17, on 04.03.2002, recorded her complaint which was not taken down as per her say and the offence was registered vide I.C.R. No. 59/02.

The investigation was then carried out by police head constable Narpatsing (later accused 13), I. A. Saiyed (later Accused 14) , C.P.I. R.M. Bhabhor (later Accused 16 and B.S. Bhagora , Dy . S.P. (later Accused 18). B.R. Patel was the P.S.I. at the Limkheda Police Station during the said period.

On March 4, 2002, photographs of the 8 dead bodies were taken. Again, the next day, March 5, 3, 2002 photographs of seven dead bodies were taken and the post mortem (P.M). was performed by Dr. Arunkumar and Dr. Sangeeta (later Accused 19 and Accused 20) respectively.

Ultimately, the C.P.I. R.M. Bhabhor ‘ A ‘ Summary report with the recommendation of R.S. Bhagora in the court of the Ld . JMFC, Limkheda and the Court, despite the evidence, accepted the report.

Bilkis with the legal aid provided by NHRC Challenged the ‘ A ‘ Summary report in the Hon’ble Supreme Court which set aside the ‘ A ‘ Summary report and transferred the investigation to C.B.I. and the C.B.I. filed the Charge sheet in the Supreme Court against the present accused and case was transferred for trial to Maharashtra by the Supreme Court. The Charge Sheet filed by the CBI may be read in the April-May 2004 issue of Communalism Combat here.

Note:

The 11 convicts released on premature release  (August 15, 2022) — Radheshyam Shah, Jaswant Chaturbhai Nai, Keshubhai Vadaniya, Bakabhai Vadaniya, Rajibhai Soni, Rameshbhai Chauhan, Shaileshbhai Bhatt, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Govindbhai Nai, Mitesh Bhatt, Pradip Modhiya

The ones convicted by Special CBI Court in 2008 -Jaswantbhai Nai, Govindbhai Nai, and Naresh Kumar Mordhiya (deceased) had raped Bilkis, while Shailesh Bhatt had killed her daughter, Saleha, by “smashing” her on the ground. Others who were convicted are Radheshyam Shah, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Pradeep Vohania, Bakabhai Vohania, Rajubhai Soni, Nitesh Bhatt, Ramesh Chandana, and Head Constable Somabhai Gori.

(The author is a senior journalist, co-editor Communalism Combat and now Sabrangindia.in and secretary, Citizens for Justice and Peace)

Related:

“I will stand & fight again, against what is wrong & for what is right, for women everywhere’: Bilkis Bano

Bilkis Bano case: Convicts set free with MHA’s approval, despite opposition from CBI and Special Court

Bilkees Bano Case: Rejecting Appeals of 11 Accused Bombay High Court Upholds Convictions

NHRC report, 2002

https://nhrc.nic.in/press-release/nhrc-makes-prelimnary-comments-and-recommendations-government-gujarat-and-government

https://nhrc.nic.in/press-release/further-proceedings-commission-situation-gujarat

The post Bilkis Bano speaks: First person account, Godhra Relief Camp, March 2002 appeared first on SabrangIndia.

New Delhi: Bilkis Bano says she smiled for the first time in a year and a half today, she said in a letter thanking the Supreme Court for its judgement undoing the remission given to those who raped her and murdered her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots.

“Today is truly the New Year for me. I have wept tears of relief. I have smiled for the first time in over a year and half. I have hugged my children,” Bano said in a letter issued through her lawyer Shobha Gupta.

A two-judge division bench of the apex court, headed by Justice BV Nagarathna, said on Monday (January 8) that the Gujarat government did not have the power to grant premature release to the 11 convicts who gang-raped a pregnant Bano and her family members, and also murdered 14 of her relatives.

The convicts had been, in 2008, sentenced to life in prison. The conviction orders had been confirmed even enhanced by the Bombay High Court and then the Supreme Court.

“It feels like a stone the size of a mountain has been lifted from my chest, and I can breathe again. This is what justice feels like,” Bano’s letter continued to state.

” I thank the honourable Supreme Court of India for giving me, my children and women everywhere, this vindication and hope in the promise of equal justice for all.”

She also thanked her husband for children for staying by her side and her friends for “[holding] her hand at each difficult turn”.

Bilkis Bano had special word of thanks for her lawyer, Shobha Gupta, saying she “never allowed me to lose faith in the idea of justice”.

“A year and half ago, on August 15, 2022, when those who had destroyed my family and terrorised my very existence, were given an early release, I simply collapsed,” she said.

“I felt I had exhausted my reservoir of courage. Until a million solidarities came my way.”

Also, thousands of ordinary people moved the Supreme Court, wrote appeals and open letters in solidarity with her, Bano said, saying they had given every woman in India the will to “rescue the idea of justice”.

In a brazen defence of it’s actions, the Gujarat government said the decision to remit the convicts’ sentence was arrived at by a panel it had set up, comprising officials and ‘social workers’, all of whom were either members of the ruling BJP or were connected with it.

On Monday, January 8, a division bench comprising Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said the Gujarat government “acted in complicity with the convicts” and noted that if the convicts can “circumvent the consequences of their conviction, peace and tranquillity in the society will be reduced to a chimaera.”

Bano said the apex court’s decision affirmed her belief in the rule of law.

“Even as I absorb the full meaning of this verdict for my own life, and for my children’s lives, the dua that emerges from my heart today is simple – the rule of law, above all else and equality before law, for all,” she said.

Her full statement, which was also issued in Gujarat and Hindi, may be read here:

The post Today, I Can Breathe Again: Bilkis Bano on landmark Supreme Court judgement appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Advocate Shobha Gupta, who has stoically represented Bilkis in her battle for justice in the apex court told Sabrang India, “It is a victory for all of us.”

Strong words of censure against the deliberate lapses in procedure have been made in the much-hailed judgement. The bench slammed the Gujarat government of being “complicit” and having “acted in tandem with the convict in approaching the Supreme Court with unclean hands, making misleading statements and hiding relevant material” and having granted remission “as an instance of usurpation of power of the Maharashtra government.” J. Nagarathna also remarked that it was this same complicity by the Gujarat government with the convicts in the case that had resulted in the cases being transferred out of the state. Referring to the nullity of the May 2022 judgment of the Supreme Court, which had granted the power to the Gujarat Court to grant remission in the said case and was heavily relied by the respondents in the present case, the bench had pointed stated “We fail to understand why the state of Gujarat did not file a review petition against the judgment dated May 13, 2022. Had the Government filed a review and impressed upon this court, the ensuing litigation would not have occurred.”

Based on this, the bench deemed the present case to be a ““A classic case where the order of this court was used to violate the rule of law by granting remission.”

In short, the Supreme Court quashed the remission order of the Gujarat government that granted premature release to the eleven convicts from their life imprisonment for multiple murders and gang rapes, including that of Bilkis Bano, during the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat. Through this highly anticipated judgement, the bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan emphasised on the duty of Constitutional Courts to ensure justice and rule of law and the importance that has been assured to the rights of a victim in India’s criminal justice system. Before beginning with the pronouncement, Justice Nagarathna had stated “A woman deserves respect”.

On January 8, the Supreme Court bench delivered its verdict in the case against the early release of Bilkis Bano Gangrape Convicts by the Gujarat Government on August 15, 2022. During the pronouncement of the verdict, judgment of which has been authored by Justice Nagarathna, the bench concerned itself with the following issues:

1. The maintainability of the petition filed by Bilkis Bano and other PILs, moved by CPI (M) Member of Parliament Subhashini Ali, journalist Revathi Laul and Prof. Roop Rekha Verma, former Trinmool Congress Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra, assailing the remission order were maintainable or not
2. Whether the Gujarat Government was competent to pass the said remission orders and if due process had been followed in the said case
3. Whether the remission orders in accordance with law

Issue 1: Maintainability

Referring to the first issue, J. Nagarathna held Bilkis Bano’s petition challenging the grant of remission to be maintainable. In view of this, the bench refused to answer the question raised regarding the maintainability of the PILs (Public interest litigations) filed in the said case as the Court had already found Bilkis Bano’s petition to be maintainable.

Issue 2: Power of Gujarat government to grant remission

Addressing the said issue, J. Nagarathna observed that instead of holding the place of occurrence of crime and place of imprisonment as the relevant consideration in this case, emphasis needed to be on the place of trial. In view of this, the bench stated “Government of the state, i.e. the Maharashtra government, where the offender is sentenced is the appropriate one to grant remission and not the government of the state, i.e. the Gujarat government, where the offence took place.”

Based upon the said observation, the bench held that the state government of Gujarat was not the competent government to pass the said order. While holding the aforementioned ground, of the Gujarat government lacking competence, to be enough to hold the remission orders null, the bench went on to deal with the ruling of the Supreme Court of May 13, 2022, which had enabled the Gujarat government to consider remission of convicts.

In the said judgment of May 2022, the Supreme Court bench comprising former Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice Vikram Nath was dealing with the petition filed by Radheshyam Bhagwandas Shah @ Lala Vakil seeking direction to the State of Gujarat to consider his application for pre­mature release under the policy that was existing at the time of his conviction. The said bench had held that the remission or pre­mature release in terms of the policy which is applicable in the State where the crime was committed has to be considered. The present bench held the above-mentioned petitioned filed by convict Radheshyam to be suppressing material facts as well as containing misleading facts. It was also pointed out the opinion of presiding judge in the earlier judgment of Bombay High Court was also not revealed. Furthermore, J. Nagarathna held the judgment delivered by Supreme Court in May to be a “nullity” as it was obtained by “playing fraud on the Court”. The bench also emphasised that the same was in contrary to the Constitution Bench judgment in Sriharan case, which had dealt with the power of the Court to substitute a death sentence by life imprisonment or by a term in excess of fourteen year.

In pursuance to making the said observations, the bench declared the judgment being relied upon to be a nullity, inasmuch as it was hit by fraud and the doctrine of per incuriam (bad in law). The bench added that the May 2022 judgement was per incuriam as it was contrary to the plain letter of the statute as well as binding judgments of the Supreme Court.

With this, the Supreme Court bench in the present case held that the government of Gujarat had no competence to entertain the applications for remission or pass orders thereon regarding the eleven convicts and that the May 2022 order of the Supreme Court had been obtained by fraud a nullity.

Issue 3: Remission orders to be in accordance to law

At the outset, J. Nagarathna observed all the remission orders dated August 10, 2022 to be “stereotype and cyclostyled orders”. Dealing with the test of whether test is whether the authority was acting within the scope of powers and if the same was exercised in accordance with law, J. Nagarathna observed that “There is arbitrariness if there is non-consideration of relavant factors, non-application of mind, acting on dictation, or any usurpation of power. Usurpation of power arises when power vested in one authority is exercised by another. Applying the principle in this case, having regard to our answer of ‘appropriate power’, Gujarat Government exercising the power was an instance of usurpation of power.”

In addition to terming the Gujarat government’s action of issuing the remission orders to be “usurpation of power” and “abuse of power”, J. Nagarathna also came down heavily at the Gujarat government for failing to file a review petition against the May 13, 2022 judgment of the Supreme Court. During her pronouncement, she stated “What is interesting is that in the earlier judgment, Gujarat Government had submitted before this Court that appropriate government was that of Maharashtra. But the same contention was rejected, which was contrary to precedents. Inspite of this, the state of Gujarat failed to file a review petition. We fail to understand why the state of Gujarat did not file a review petition against the judgment dated May 13, 2022. Had the Government filed a review and impressed upon this court, the ensuing litigation would not have occurred.”

The bench then slammed the Gujarat government of “acting in tandem” with the convict who had approached the Supreme Court with “unclean hands to suppress facts”.

In furtherance to this, J. Nagarathna pointed stated that it was this complicity of the state of Gujarat Government with the convicts that had resulted in the transfer of trial. As reported by LiveLaw, Justice Nagarathna observed “State of Gujarat acted in complicit with the convicts, which was the very apprehension that had led this Court to transfer the trial out of the State.”

Observing the abovementioned, the bench then held the presence instance to be “A classic case where the order of this court was used to violate the rule of law by granting remission.”  With this, the bench quashed the remission order and held the convicts to be the beneficiaries of an invalid order.

The primary question- Protection of personal liberty vs. rule of law?

Pursuant to the quashing of the remission orders issued by the Gujarat government, the question that loomed in front of the bench was to decide whether the released convicts should be sent back to prison. Pondering upon the same, J. Nagarathna stated “In our view, personal liberty is important. But this is a case where 11 convicts are granted liberty on a remission order which has been quashed. So, should they be sent back to prison? This is a delicate question.”

This question needed to be decision in view of the entitlement of liberty to a person under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. With regards to this, the bench held that “As per Article 21, a person is entitled to liberty only in accordance with law.” Exploring further on the same, the bench held that rule of law mean that no one can be above law and any breach of rule of law amounts to negation of right to equality.

Emphasising upon the duty of Court to step in and enforce the rule of law, the bench stated “This Court must be a beacon in upholding the rule of law. In a democracy, rule of law has to be preserved. Compassion and sympathy have no role to play. It is through power of judicial review conferred on independent institutions, like High Courts and Supreme Court, that the rule of law is preserved. Rule of law must be preserved unmindful of the ripples of the consequences.”

Imploring the duty of the court to “be mindful not just to the spelling of JUSTICE but also the content of it” as well as “to correct arbitrary orders at the earliest and to retain the foundation of trust of the public”, the bench asserted that by allowing the convicts to remain out of prison will amount to giving an imprimatur to invalid orders. The bench also highlighted that the eleven convicts had remained in prison for a little over fourteen years while enjoying multiple liberal parole and furlough. In view of ensuring that “rule of law prevails”, the bench then ordered the eleven convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang rape and murder case to surrender back to prison within 2 weeks.

J. Nagarathna also said “We hold that deprivation of liberty to the respondents (convicts) is justified. They have lost their right to liberty once they were convicted and imprisoned. Also, if they want to seek remission again, it is important that they have to be in jail.”

Bilkis Bano case was and is among the rarest of rare case. Since March 2002, she has fought virtually alone in the most adverse of circumstances, helped mainly by a band of human rights activists, many of whom themselves became victims of the processes of injustice, precisely because of the help extended in cases like Bilkis’. After 20 years, one can only hope that Bilkis’s quest for justice is over.

Brief background of the case:

During the communal violence that engulfed Gujarat in February- March 2002, in a particularly brutal attack, 14 members of Bilkis Bano’s family were killed, including Bano’s two-and-a-half-year-old daughter whose head was smashed on a rock! On March 3, moving from one village to another, the group were spotted by gangs of men in two cars hunting for Muslims. At the time she was carrying Saleeha, her three-year-old daughter, in her arms. She recognised the men, mainly from her own village, who rushed towards her. They tore the child from her arms and smashed her head on the ground. The child died before her mother’s eyes. Three men gang raped the pregnant Bilkis. Her sister and cousin sister were also raped. One of them had given birth only the day before. The baby was with her. Every single one of the group of eight was killed including the baby. Bilkis, who had lost consciousness, was left for dead, but she survived.

After Bilkis Bano approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Supreme Court ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The accused were arrested in 2004 and the trial originally began in Ahmedabad. However, Bano expressed concerns about witness intimidation and evidence tampering and the case was transferred to Mumbai in August 2004. After a tortuous legal journey, the men were convicted by a special CBI court in January 2008. In 2017, the High Court upheld their conviction.

The order of remission:

After completing 14 years behind bars, Radheshyam Shah moved court for sentence remission. But the Gujarat High Court dismissed his plea stating the appropriate government to consider his plea under sections 432 and 433 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, was Maharashtra and not Gujarat. Then, Shah moved Supreme Court which ruled in May that Gujarat was the appropriate state to examine his plea. Besides, the presiding Judge who heard the trial in Mumbai after transfer, UD Salvi had also expressed his opinion against the remission.

A committee was formed to look into the plea for remission and according to Panchmahals collector Sujal Mayatra it “took a unanimous decision in favour of remission of all the 11 convicts in the case.” Both the Gujarat government and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) acceded to the request.

The convicts who were granted remission were: Jaswant Nai, Govind Nai, Shailesh Bhatt, Mitesh Bhatt, Radhyesham Shah, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Bakabhai Vohania, Rajubhai Soni, Pradeep Mordhiya, and Ramesh Chandana. They are all residents of Randhikpur village located in Daud district of Gujarat. They were all known to Bilkis Bano and her family; while some were neighbours, others did business with her family. In May 2022, the Supreme Court bench of Justice Rastogi and Justice Vikram Nath had held that Gujarat Government was the appropriate government to consider the remission in the case and directed that the remission applications be decided within two months. On August 15, 2022, as India was celebrating her 75th Independence Day, these convicts walked out of jail and were felicitated with garlands by their family and friends.

Outrage followed and many legal luminaries and civil society members also wondered how remission was granted for serious crimes like gang rape and mass murder. Justice UD Salvi, the judge who had convicted the eleven men, told Bar and Bench, “A very bad precedent has been set. This is wrong, I would say. Now, convicts in other gang rape cases would seek similar reliefs.” Then nearly 9,000 people from different walks of life in Mumbai participated in a signature campaign urging the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to reverse the decision to grant remissions.

Then an NDTV investigation revealed that at least five people on the Advisory Committee that recommended the release are allegedly connected to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Citing an official document that lists the members of the advisory committee, NDTV said it included two BJP MLAs, a member of the BJP state executive committee and two others, who are also linked to the party.

Meanwhile, according to a report by journalist Barkha Dutt’s digital news platform Mojo Story, some of the eleven convicts were not living in their homes after their release. Families of some convicts said they were on pilgrimage, but none provided details of their whereabouts of when they would return. This is significant in light of the current hearings before the Supreme Court. If the court overturns the decision to grant remission, the men need to be traceable so that they can be re-imprisoned.

Petitions against the Remission:

On August 25, 2022, the Supreme Court bench comprising of the then Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice Vikram Nath had issued notice to the state on the petition challenging the order of Gujarat Government allowing premature release of 11 convicts sentenced to life in the Bilkis Bano case for gangrape & murder. While Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal had narrated the grim facts of the case, relating to exodus of Muslim population, rampant incidents of rape and murders, etc., the counsel appearing for State of Gujarat on the other hand opposed the petition on ground of maintainability.

In October, 2022, the Gujarat government told the Supreme Court that it decided to release the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case on completion of their 14 years sentence as their “behaviour was found to be good”. The approval for their release was granted despite opposition from a special court and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The Gujarat government also submitted before the Supreme Court that it was the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) that enabled the release of eleven men convicted in the Bilkis Bano case.

It is pertinent to note that one of the convicts, who was released by the Gujarat government on remission in the Bilkis Bano case, stands charge sheeted for outraging the modesty of a woman on June 19, 2020.

Related:

‘Be ready with files’, SC warns as it issues notice to GoI, Gujarat govts on Bilkis Bano’s plea against remission of convicts

Bilkis Bano gang rape convict shares stage with BJP MP, MLA: Gujarat

“I will stand & fight again, against what is wrong & for what is right, for women everywhere’: Bilkis Bano

Bilkis Bano case: Convicts set free with MHA’s approval, despite opposition from CBI and Special Court

The post Bilkis Bano Case: Supreme Court strikes down remission for gang rape and murder convicts, citing flagrant violation of rule of law appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On September 9, the Supreme Court began hearing two petitions challenging the grant of remission of sentences granted to the eleven convicts in the Bilkis Bano case. While one petition was filed by CPI (M) Member of Parliament Subhashini Ali, journalist Revathi Laul and Prof. Roop Rekha Verma, another was moved by Trinmool Congress Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra.

However, appearing for the convicts, Advocate Rishi Malhotra told the court that they had not been given copies of the recently filed impleading petition. The court today issued notice in the petitions, and ordered that copies of the petitions be given to the convicts, as well as the standing counsel for the State of Gujarat. The matter has been posted for hearing after three weeks.

Brief background of the case

During the communal violence that engulfed Gujarat in February- March 2002, in a particularly brutal attack, 14 members of Bilkis Bano’s family were killed, including Bano’s two-and-a-half-year-old daughter whose head was smashed on a rock! Bano, who was over five months pregnant, was gang raped.

After Bano approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Supreme Court ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The accused were arrested in 2004 and the trial originally began in Ahmedabad. However, Bano expressed concerns about witness intimidation and evidence tampering and the case was transferred to Mumbai in August 2004. After a tortuous legal journey, the men were convicted by a special CBI court in January 2008. In 2017, the High Court upheld their conviction.

After completing 14 years behind bars, Radheshyam Shah moved court for sentence remission. But the Gujarat High Court dismissed his plea stating the appropriate government to consider his plea under sections 432 and 433 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, was Maharashtra and not Gujarat. Then, Shah moved Supreme Court which ruled in May that Gujarat was the appropriate state to examine his plea.

A committee was formed to look into the plea for remission and according to Panchmahals collector Sujal Mayatra it “took a unanimous decision in favour of remission of all the 11 convicts in the case.”

The convicts who were granted remission are: Jaswant Nai, Govind Nai, Shailesh Bhatt, Mitesh Bhatt, Radhyesham Shah, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Bakabhai Vohania, Rajubhai Soni, Pradeep Mordhiya, and Ramesh Chandana. They are all residents of Randhikpur village located in Daud district of Gujarat. They were all known to Bilkis Bano and her family; while some were neighbours, others did business with her family. On August 15, 2022, as India was celebrating her 75^th Independence Day, these convicts walked out of jail and were felicitated with garlands by their family and friends.

The outrage and demands for justice

Many legal luminaries and civil society members also wondered how remission was granted for serious crimes like gang rape and mass murder. Justice UD Salvi, the judge who had convicted the eleven men, told Bar and Bench, “A very bad precedent has been set. This is wrong, I would say. Now, convicts in other gang rape cases would seek similar reliefs.”

“The guidelines issued by the Centre to states on a prisoner release policy to coincide with Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, clearly states that among the categories of prisoners NOT to be granted special remission are ‘those convicted of rape’. And the remission of these sentences is not only immoral and unconscionable, it violates Gujarat’s existing remission policy,” pointed out a statement signed by over 6,000 citizens, including grassroot workers and women and human rights activists such as Syeda Hameed, Zafarul-Islam Khan, Roop Rekha Verma, Devaki Jain, Uma Chakravarti, Subhashini Ali, Kavita Krishnan, Maimoona Mollah, Hasina Khan, Rachana Mudraboyina, Shabnam Hashmi, as well as civil rights groups including Saheli Women’s Resource Centre, Gamana Mahila Samuha, Bebaak Collective, All India Progressive Women’s Association, Uttarakhand Mahila Manch, Forum Against Oppression of Women, Pragatisheel Mahila Manch, Parcham Collective, Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan, Amoomat Society, WomComMatters, Centre for Struggling Women and Sahiyar.

The remission of sentences sparked huge outrage across the country. In fact, recently nearly 9,000 people from different walks of life in Mumbai participated in a signature campaign urging the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to reverse the decision to grant remissions.

Did political patrons play fairy godmother to convicts?

Then an NDTV investigation revealed that at least five people on the Advisory Committee that recommended the release are allegedly connected to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Citing an official document that lists the members of the advisory committee, NDTV said it included two BJP MLAs, a member of the BJP state executive committee and two others, who are also linked to the party.

In fact, BJP MLA from Godhra CK Raulji, who was one of the Committee members, told the Indian Express, “It is possible that they (the convicts) might have been fixed in the case due to their past family activities. When such riots take place, it happens that those who are not involved are named. But I don’t know if they committed the crime, we decided (on remission) based on their behaviour.” He further said, “We asked the jailer and learnt that their behaviour was good in the prison…also (some of the convicts) are Brahmins. They have good ‘sanskaar’ (values).”

Are some of the convicts untraceable?

Meanwhile, according to a report by journalist Barkha Dutt’s digital news platform Mojo Story, some of the eleven convicts are at present not living in their homes. Families of some convicts said they were on pilgrimage, but none provided details of their whereabouts of when they would return. This is significant in light of the current hearings before the Supreme Court. If the court overturns the decision to grant remission, the men need to be traceable so that they can be re-imprisoned.

But Rishi Malhotra, the lawyer for the convicts, denied that the men had gone into hiding, telling Mojo Story, “They are absolutely not underground. They have no reason to do so.” He reiterated, “They are in touch with me. They are in their villages. They have no intention to flee.” But the real shocker came when he revealed that the Central government had approved the grant of remission. Barkha Dutt asked him, “Are you aware that under the rules, the Central government has to give its approval? Was it taken?” To this he responded saying, “Absolutely. It was taken under Section 435 CrPC.” When Dutt asked him to confirm the same, he said, “I’m making this statement with full responsibility – the Central government’s concurrence, as required by law, was taken.”

Related:

Nearly 9,000 people participate in signature campaign to demand justice for Bilkis Bano

Bilkis Bano case: Convicts’ whereabouts unknown even as SC prepares to hear petitions challenging remission of sentences

Bilkis Bano case: SC issues notice in petition challenging remission of convicts’ sentences

Bilkis Bano case: Remission of convicts’ sentences challenged before SC

Bilkis Bano case: NHRC to discuss release of convicts?

A very bad precedent has been set: Judge who convicted 11 men in Bilkis Bano case

Over 6,000 Citizens Urge SC to Revoke Remission of Convicts in Bilkis Bano Case

Bereft of words, still numb: Bilkis Bano

Bilkis Bano case: Eleven people convicted of gang rape and murder freed

The post Bilkis Bano case: SC orders copies of impleading petition to be given to convicts, State of Gujarat appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Former Supreme Court judge Justice Madan B Lokur has called for a deeper examination of how a committee of the Gujarat government recently granted remission to eleven men convicted of mass murder and gang rapes in the Bilkis Bano case. Speaking to NewsClick, Justice Lokur said he found the remission in this case “rather astonishing”. The former judge said, “I think we need a White Paper on the entire episode.” 

The remission granted to men convicted of brutal criminal assaults during the communal conflagration in Gujarat in 2002 has become a litmus test for women’s rights in India. It has also made people wonder if the judiciary can protect these rights against State overreach. What makes matters worse is remission for the brutal mass murderers and rapists came on Independence Day. 

It is important to note that Justice Lokur is not the only former judge who has spoken out against the remission. It prompted former Bombay High Court Justice UD Salvi, who led the CBI court that convicted the eleven men, to describe the remission as a “rebellion against the judicial apparatus”. Retired justice Deepak Gupta of the Supreme Court of India has also termed this remission immoral, unfair and unjust. Justice Lokur, who retired from the Supreme Court in 2018, earlier said that news of the remission came as an “unpleasant surprise”. 

NewsClick asked Justice Lokur if the Supreme Court could undo the injustice done to Bilkis Bano. He responded that the law is “very much in favour of overturning the remission”. He also said, “I am quite hopeful that justice will be done.” However, since the remission order is not in the public domain, he could not comment on the grounds relied upon by the committee to allow the remission. In this context, he said, “Prima facie, granting remission to all eleven convicts will require strong justification. The remission order will certainly be worth seeing.” 

A key question, in this case, is what signal it has sent to women. Justice Lokur said, “The remission order sends out a message that conviction does not mean that justice has been done. Gender justice has a long way to go.” 

This remission also has socio-political ramifications. For example, there is a demand of the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which oversees Sikh religious matters, to release Sikh prisoners who are known to have completed their life terms. Members of the SGPC staged a protest at Harmandir Sahib after the remission in the Bilkis Bano case, reiterating this demand. Some prisoners whose release the SGPC seeks were arrested during the phase of militancy in Punjab. 

Justice Lokur says, “Of course, this [remission in Bilkis Bano case] could be a precedent for granting remission even in case of heinous crimes. The fallout of the remission order is quite obvious. I’m not surprised by the [SGPC] protest.”

Remission of crimes seen as rarest of rare, or extreme in their cruelty and danger posed to society, could encourage other criminals and convicts, not to mention state governments seeking to benefit from polarising society or lowering the status of women. 

Convicts may also feel entitled to release on specious grounds, considering a member of the committee that granted remission in the Bilkis Bano case defended the convicts as well-behaved for they belonged to the elite Brahmin caste. 

Another key concern in the remission in the Bilkis Bano case is why none of the eleven convicts ever appealed to the Supreme Court against the Bombay High Court order sentencing them. It is generally understood that convicts seek remission whenever the option becomes available to them under the law. Justice Lokur expresses surprise in this aspect of the case. “Frankly, I find this rather astonishing. In most such cases [of convictions for heinous crimes], where a life sentence is given, the convict will file an appeal in the highest court, but this did not happen with even one of the eleven who had been convicted,” he said. He then said a white paper is required on the entire episode. 

The question arises, can the Supreme Court step in once the committee in Gujarat has granted remission? Reportedly, the consent of the CBI court judge who convicted these eleven men is necessitated by the law but was not taken. However, there are not enough details in the public domain to arrive at a conclusion.

“The law is intended to protect people and enable them to live an orderly life,” Justice Lokur said. He added, “Unfortunately, the law is now being weaponised to prosecute and persecute people. Tragically, we are passing through this phase.” He rued that things have come to this pass because “some are more equal than others” in our country. 

Justice Lokur agrees “absolutely” that the remission in the Bilkis Bano case is a symptom of majoritarian rule with the tacit support of the government. This is also because some convicts in the Bilkis Bano case were found guilty of committing numerous heinous crimes. He said, “Some (if not all) of the eleven have been given more than one life sentence—two definitely, and perhaps more. If such people are entitled to remission, we need to introspect and seriously consider where we are heading.”

Most importantly, Justice Lokur said, “As it is, women have a tough time dealing with offences such as domestic violence, dowry demands, sexual harassment and so on. Dealing with sexual offences has always been a problem.” 

It is no wonder that on hearing of the release of the eleven convicts, Bilkis Bano said, “Is this the end of justice?” The question before Indian women is, where must they turn if justice is no longer dispensed with an even hand.

The author is a freelance journalist. The views are personal.

Courtesy: https://www.newsclick.in

The post ‘Astonishing’, Need White Paper on Remission in Bilkis Bano: Justice Madan Lokur appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On Wednesday, the NGO Pukaar revealed that it had collected 630 new signatures in support of Gujarat gangrape survivor Bilkis Bano. The signatures were collected after volunteers held a small demonstration at Airoli station. They are now trying to send these as part of a new set of signatures, apart from the 8,320 sent to the Supreme Court Chief Justice yesterday.

As SabrangIndia had previously reported, as many as 8,320 signatures were collected by the joint efforts of various organisations such as All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), Bebaak Collective, Forum Against Oppression of Women, Habitat and Livelihood Welfare Association, Indian Christian for Democracy, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, Justice Coalition of Religious – West India, National Solidarity Forum, One Future Collective, Pani Haq Samiti, Parcham Collective, Platform for Social Justice, Police Reform Watch, Prabodhan Yuva Sangh, Shoshit Jan Andolan, Urja Trust and the Vinayak Foundation.

“Many of these signatures were gathered in the second-class women’s compartment on the local trains of the city. A group of feminists spent hours getting on and off trains, speaking to women about the remission and asking for their opinion and their support. Another section of signatures were gathered from iconic places in Mumbai, such as the Chaityabhoomi, Shivaji Park, Carter Road Bandra, where we talked to families there to enjoy the fresh air and time together,” said the groups in a press release.

Shedding light on other venues, they said, “Some signatures were collected from protests held in the city at Dadar Station (East) as commuters racing to their trains still took the time to speak to us and register their anger at the injustice of the granting of remission. A few signatures were gathered from students by students at Universities in the city. Young women wanted to be part of this campaign by gathering signatures of their batchmates. Yet others were collected outside mosques and in bazaars and streets of the city. And some signatures were gathered in bastis and chawls by the community, women and youth groups who live and work in these neighbourhoods.”

They further said, “Most of these are the signatures of the people of Mumbai who aren’t online, who don’t have the opportunity to sign the online petitions. These are the voices that usually do not get heard but represent the sentiment of the common person on the streets and in the public spaces of the city of Mumbai.” 

On Tuesday, September 6, the feminists gathered at the General Post Office to mail the collected signatures to the CJI. With the addition of 630 new signatures collected by Pukaar, the tally now stands at 8,950 and is likely to go up as new signatures are obtained. These are likely to be sent as a second batch to the CJI.

Related:

Signatures collected in support of justice for Bilkis Bano to be sent to the Chief Justice of India

The post Nearly 9,000 people participate in signature campaign to demand justice for Bilkis Bano appeared first on SabrangIndia.

An investigation by journalist Barkha Dutt’s digital news platform Mojo Story has revealed that the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case, who were granted remission of sentence on August 15, 2022 and released from jail, are at present not living in their homes. Families of some convicts said they were on pilgrimage, but none provided details of their whereabouts of when they would return.

This is significant in light of the fact that the Supreme Court is hearing a petition moved by CPI (M) Member of Parliament Subhashini Ali, journalist Revathi Laul and Prof. Roop Rekha Verma, challenging the remission. Another petition has been moved by Trinmool Congress Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra. If the court overturns the decision to grant remission, the men need to be traceable so that they can be re-imprisoned.

The convicts who were granted remission are: Jaswant Nai, Govind Nai, Shailesh Bhatt, Mitesh Bhatt, Radhyesham Shah, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Bakabhai Vohania, Rajubhai Soni, Pradeep Mordhiya, and Ramesh Chandana. They are all residents of Randhikpur village located in Daud district of Gujarat. They were all known to Bilkis Bano and her family; while some were neighbours, others did business with her family.

The Mojo Story team went to the homes of seven of the eleven convicts, and found that they were not at home. While there was a lock on the door of the home of brothers – Mithilesh and Shailesh Bhatt, the family of Radheshyam Shah said that he was on a yatra (religious pilgrimage) in Rajasthan and they did not know when he will be back. Similarly, the family of brothers Kesarbhai Vohania and Bakabhai Vohania also said that they were out of town and it wasn’t known when they would return. The family of Jaswant Nai and Goving Nai refused to say where the brothers had gone or when they were expected to return.

A shopkeeper in Randhikpur village told Mojo Story, “They (the released convicts) are not here. They haven’t been around since after the release.” Another shopkeeper whose shop is located next to the home of one of the convicts, said, “I open my shop at 7 A.M, and down my shutters at 7 P.M. I have not seen him even once,” and speculated, “He must have gone into hiding.”

Lawyer counters allegations

But Rishi Malhotra, the lawyer for the convicts, denied that the men had gone into hiding, telling Mojo Story, “They are absolutely not underground. They have no reason to do so.” He reiterated, “They are in touch with me. They are in their villages. They have no intention to flee.”

Now it is important to note here that legally, the convicts are well within their rights to travel freely, but their absence becomes a cause for concern given the petition challenging the grant of remission. The petition is likely to be heard on September 9.

But Bilkis Bano’s lawyer Shobha Gupta says, “We have not seen a copy of the remission order. We don’t know if any conditions have been placed.” Therefore, it is not known if they are permitted to leave the country. But Advocate Malhotra reiterated that the convicts were well within their rights to leave the village and travel.

Advocate Malhotra also dismissed Subhashini Ali’s petition as “purely speculative”, and questioned her locus standi.

He further made a questionable choice of words when he said that Bilkis Bano had “happily accepted the compensation paid to her.” The sheer inhumanity of the statement is stark, and speaks volumes about how little respect is shown to a woman who has survived such a harrowing ordeal.

But the real shocker came when he revealed that the Central government had approved the grant of remission. Barkha Dutt asked him, “Are you aware that under the rules, the Central government has to give its approval? Was it taken?” To this he responded saying, “Absolutely. It was taken under Section 435 CrPC.” When Dutt asked him to confirm the same, he said, “I’m making this statement with full responsibility – the Central government’s concurrence, as required by law, was taken.”

This revelation puts the Centre squarely in the dock, especially in wake of the Prime Minister’s impassioned plea on Independence Day, to respect women… a plea made on the same day that Bilkis Bano case convicts walked out of jail.

Activists raise concerns

Meanwhile, Subhashini Ali raised concerns reminding people of the State’s alleged complicity in protecting the rapists in the Hathras case. When Barkha Dutt reminded her that the local BJP MLA had dismissed allegations against the convicts calling them “Sanskari Brahmins”, Ali pointed out, “The way the law should be implemented is being subverted in our country. Today the caste and community of those who are committee of those who are committing the crime and those who are the victims, that is becoming the basis on which justice is being done.”

“The ground is quite fertile for the subversion of justice,” said women’s rights activist Zakia Soman of the Bharat Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA). She questioned the grounds for the remission, “I have nothing against remission per se. But remission to mass murderers, rapists and those who have carried out crimes against humanity?” She further said, “It appears that there is an ecosystem of subversion of justice and it is evident from the opacity of this whole matter.

Brief background of the case

During the communal violence that engulfed Gujarat in February- March 2002, many people turned on their own neighbours and acquaintances. The eleven men who attacked Bilkis Bano and her family on March 3, 2002, were all residents of her village and known to her. In the particularly brutal attack, 14 members of her family were killed, including Bano’s two-and-a-half-year-old daughter whose head was smashed on a rock! Bano, who was over five months pregnant, was gang raped.

After Bano approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Supreme Court ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The accused were arrested in 2004 and the trial originally began in Ahmedabad. However, Bano expressed concerns about witness intimidation and evidence tampering and the case was transferred to Mumbai in August 2004. After a tortuous legal journey, the men were convicted by a special CBI court in January 2008. In 2017, the High Court upheld their conviction.

But Radheshyam Shah moved court for sentence remission. But the Gujarat High Court dismissed his plea stating the appropriate government to consider his plea under sections 432 and 433 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, was Maharashtra and not Gujarat. Then, Shah moved Supreme Court which ruled in May that Gujarat was the appropriate state to examine his plea.

A committee was formed to look into the plea for remission and according to Panchmahals collector Sujal Mayatra it “took a unanimous decision in favour of remission of all the 11 convicts in the case.” Then an NDTV investigation revealed that at least five people on the Advisory Committee that recommended the release are allegedly connected to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Citing an official document that lists the members of the advisory committee, NDTV said it included two BJP MLAs, a member of the BJP state executive committee and two others, who are also linked to the party.

In fact, BJP MLA from Godhra CK Raulji, who was one of the Committee members, told the Indian Express, “It is possible that they (the convicts) might have been fixed in the case due to their past family activities. When such riots take place, it happens that those who are not involved are named. But I don’t know if they committed the crime, we decided (on remission) based on their behaviour.” He further said, “We asked the jailer and learnt that their behaviour was good in the prison…also (some of the convicts) are Brahmins. They have good ‘sanskaar’ (values).”

Related:

Bilkis Bano case: SC issues notice in petition challenging remission of convicts’ sentences

Bilkis Bano case: Remission of convicts’ sentences challenged before SC

Bilkis Bano case: NHRC to discuss release of convicts?

A very bad precedent has been set: Judge who convicted 11 men in Bilkis Bano case

Over 6,000 Citizens Urge SC to Revoke Remission of Convicts in Bilkis Bano Case

Bereft of words, still numb: Bilkis Bano

Bilkis Bano case: Eleven people convicted of gang rape and murder freed

The post Bilkis Bano case: Convicts’ whereabouts unknown even as SC prepares to hear petitions challenging remission of sentences appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Various women’s organizations, citizens groups, civil rights groups, and students’ groups in Mumbai have been carrying out signature campaigns for the last few weeks, to demand withdrawal of the remission of sentence granted to 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case on 15 August 2022.

The signatures of these citizens, who come from all walks of life, were collected, in one-to-one conversations by some organisations, at various places including in communities, trains, roadside, gardens, seafront, and protest demonstrations. Nearly 50 people were involved in the campaign spread across Airoli, Mumbra, Churchgate, Charni Road, Dadar West including all of western, central and harbour line trains. Leaflets in three different languages were circulated, citizens were urged to sign them to demand that the remission be cancelled.

Eventually, as many as 8320 signatures were collected by the joint efforts of various organisations such as All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), Bebaak Collective, Forum Against Oppression of Women, Habitat and Livelihood Welfare Association, Indian Christian for Democracy, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, Justice Coalition of Religious – West India, National Solidarity Forum, One Future Collective, Pani Haq Samiti, Parcham Collective, Platform for Social Justice, Police Reform Watch, Prabodhan Yuva Sangh, Shoshit Jan Andolan, Urja Trust and the Vinayak Foundation.

On Tuesday, September 6, the feminists gathered at the General Post Office to mail the collected signatures to the CJI. Some images from the day may be seen here:

Speaking about the signature campaign, Chayanika Shah, member of Forum Against Oppression of Women told SabrangIndia, “As across the country, people are showing support for Bilkis Bano in different ways, we decided to take up the signature campaign. We needed to talk to the people and know their feelings about the grant of remission to the convicts of the gang rape case. We wanted to take into account the opinion of ordinary citizens. ” She further said,  “Through the interaction, we found that many people were unaware about the remission news especially, younger generation who did not even know about the happenings of Gujarat 2002 riots. Merely, 10-20% had heard about it whereas 80% were not even aware. That is why one-on-one interaction to collect the signatures was adopted rather than online petitions so that we could talk to people and provide the right information to those who were unaware. While there were also a handful of people who simply refused to engage in the conversation, there were some who even asked why no questions were raised in other similar cases. ”

Pressing upon the importance of offline petitions, she stated, “Face-to-face interaction was a normal practice twenty years ago to collect signatures in support of a cause. It is more engaging than online communication which lacks the personal touch. Therefore, we wish to continue the campaign until the remission happens.”

When asked about people’s reaction during their interaction, she said, “Young people are more enraged. People are worried that the remission to the convicts granted in Bilkis Bano’s case sets a wrong precedent. They see it as an arbitrary decision which is not acceptable to people. People find the felicitation of the convicts post remissions to be distasteful. They do not appreciate the fact that after all the efforts taken to convict the accused in a gang rape case, their punishment is remitted. Some people even said that it would have been easier to accept the remission had it been granted on the basis of old age or severe health problems but it was simply arbitrary to grant remission to all 11 convicts merely because one person went to court asking for it.”

Difference in release provisions as per remission policies of 1992 and later

The main question surrounds the difference between the Gujarat Government’s remission policy of 1992 and 2014. As reported by NDTV, The Gujarat Government’s 1992 remission policy did not have restrictions on the premature release of those convicted of rape or sentenced to life imprisonment, unlike the later policies in both the state and at the Centre. When the channel spoke to Panchmahal District Magistrate, Sujal Mayatra, he reiterated their recommendation was based on the Gujarat government’s 1992 remission policy and they had submitted their recommendation to the state at the end of May.

Justice Salvi too has weighed in on this and told Bar and Bench, “There is no clarity if the State has made amendments to Section 376(2)g of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and its definition. Has the State changed the definition of gravity of this offence of gangrape? If there is a modification in its definition, then the 1992 policy would be applicable. But if the definition and gravity of gangrape continues to be the same without amendment, then the policy of 2014 would be applicable, which would mean they shouldn’t be given remission.”

According to Ms. Shah, the intention of the signature campaign in this case is to bring to the CJI’s attention “the grave violation of the Supreme Court order that convicted the accused in the first place. Granted remission merely on the basis of change in policy does not make sense. Supreme Court must pay attention to this.”

Brief background of the case

Bilkis Bano and her family had been attacked in Randhikpur village near Ahmedabad on March 3, 2002. In the particularly brutal attack, 14 members of her family were killed including Bano’s two-and-a-half-year-old daughter whose head was smashed on a rock! Bano, who was over five months pregnant, was gang raped.

After Bano approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Supreme Court ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The accused were arrested in 2004 and the trial originally began in Ahmedabad. However, Bano expressed concerns about witness intimidation and evidence tampering and the case was transferred to Mumbai in August 2004.

In January 2008, a special CBI court convicted 11 people in the case and sentenced them to life imprisonment. But seven people including policemen and doctors were acquitted. In 2017, the High Court upheld the conviction of the 11 people. The court also raised important questions about the role of five policemen and two doctors accused of not performing their duty and tampering with evidence, and set aside their acquittal.

She had been awarded Rs 50 lakh as compensation by the Supreme Court in April 2019 after a prolonged legal battle. But despite that the state government delayed payment of compensation for five months and only did so after the SC once again directed them to do it in September 2019. 

In July 2020, some of the accused who were out on parole, allegedly assaulted and attempted to intimidate a witness in the case. This after the witness tried to prevent them from assaulting two women in a separate matter.

Related:

Bilkis Bano case: Eleven people convicted of gang rape and murder freed
A very bad precedent has been set: Judge who convicted 11 men in Bilkis Bano case
When Accused Become Innocent And Innocent Are Made Accused

The post Signatures collected in support of justice for Bilkis Bano to be sent to the Chief Justice of India appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Support for Bilkis Bano and calls for justice for her are growing every day. Now, 134 former bureaucrats have written to the Supreme Court about the recent remission of sentence granted to eleven men convicted for gangraping Bilkis Bano and murdering 14 members of ther family including her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, asking it to “rectify this horrendously wrong decision”.

“We write to you because we are deeply distressed by this decision of the government of Gujarat and because we believe that it is only the Supreme Court which has the prime jurisdiction, and hence the responsibility, to rectify this horrendously wrong decision,” says the letter signed by former civil servants and activists such as Aruna Roy and Harsh Mander, former Mumbai police chief Julio Ribeiro,  former Home Secretary GK Pillai, former Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar, former Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Najeeb Jung, and former foreign secretaries Shivshankar Menon and Sujatha Singh, among others. The letter has been put together under the aegis of the Constitutional Conduct Group.

The letter further says, “So influential were the persons accused of this ghastly crime and so politically fraught was the issue that not only has the case to be investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) instead of the Gujarat police, but it also had to be transferred from Gujarat to a special CBI court in Mumbai, to ensure a fair trial, because of the death threats received by Bilkis Bano.” It adds, “It is also shocking that five out of the 10 members of the Advisory Committee, which sanctioned the early release, belong to the Bharatiya Janata Party, while the remaining are ex-officio members. This raises the important question of impartiality and independence of the decision, and vitiates both the process and the outcome.”

The civil servants urge the Supreme Court, “In view of these glaring deviations from established law, departure from government policy and propriety, and the chilling impact that this release will have, not just on Bilkis Bano and her family and supporters, but also on the safety of all women in India, especially those who belong to minority and vulnerable communities, we urge you to rescind the order of remission passed by the Gujarat government and send the 11 persons convicted of gangrape and murder back to jail to serve out their life sentence.”

Readers would recall that on August 25, the Supreme Court issued notice in the petition moved by CPI (M) Member of Parliament Subhashini Ali, journalist Revathi Laul and Prof. Roop Rekha Verma, challenging the grant of remission of sentences. The State was granted two weeks to respond to the petition.

Related:

Bilkis Bano case: SC issues notice in petition challenging remission of convicts’ sentences

Bilkis Bano case: Remission of convicts’ sentences challenged before SC

Bilkis Bano case: NHRC to discuss release of convicts?

A very bad precedent has been set: Judge who convicted 11 men in Bilkis Bano case

Over 6,000 Citizens Urge SC to Revoke Remission of Convicts in Bilkis Bano Case

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The post Rectify this horrendously wrong decision: Ex-bureaucrats to SC on remission to convicts in Bilkis Bano case appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The protests were called by 22 organisations, including AIDWA, AIPWA, YWCA, AISA, NAPM, AIUWFP among others. Image Courtesy: Facebook

New Delhi: Several rights groups on Saturday organised protests across the country against the remission of life sentences given to 11 convicts by the Gujarat government in the 2002 Bilkis Bano gang-rape case.

The protests took place at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, Bengaluru’s Freedom Park, and Mumbai, all of them condemning the Gujarat government’s decision and demanded that the convicts’ life sentences be reinstated. The protests were called by 22 organisations, including AIDWA, AIPWA, YWCA, AISA, NAPM, AIUWFP among others.

The 11 men sentenced to life imprisonment in the Bilkis Bano case had walked out of the Godhra sub-jail on Monday, August 15, after the Gujarat government approved their release under its remission policy. The convicts were later garlanded by groups like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).

The men had gangraped Bano in a village near Ahmedabad on March 3, 2002, during the riots in Gujarat. She was 19 and pregnant at the time. Fourteen members of her family were also killed in the violence, including her three-year-old daughter whose head was smashed on the ground by the perpetrators.

Citizens have been protesting since the day the convicts were released.

Maimoona Mollah, member of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), who was present at the protest, told NewsClick: “I applaud Bilkis for her courage but this decision is anti-women and at the same time this is an attempt to make Muslim women second class citizens.”

Many protesters present at Jantar Mantar shared Mollah’s sentiments.

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Apeksha Priyadarshi told NewsClick that the circumstances under which this decision was taken was questionable. “Everyone is playing the blame game now. The BJP government is saying that the court released them and the Supreme Court is saying that we had only asked to form a committee. But no one thought of Bilkis and her family.”

She further raised questions about the security of Bilkis and her family now that the 11 convicts were set free by the court. “After this decision, there is fear among the Muslim population around the village of Bilkis and many families are afraid by the release of these heinous criminals,” she said.

Veteran Indian actress Shabana Azmi, who was also present at the Jantar Mantar protest, to extend her support and express solidarity with Bilkis and her family told mediapersons that: “We will only believe the Prime Minister’s tall claims regarding women’s safety when we see the results. Put these criminals in jail in a week, then their words can be believed.”

Azmi also termed a BJP leader’s attempt to save these criminals by portraying them as “cultured and Brahmins”as “disgusting”.

“This country had united and fought in the case of Nirbhaya. People’s struggle is the only way. We will unite and take to the roads for Bilkis till justice is served,” Azmi added.

Accusing the BJP of playing politics over religion, Kavita Krishnan, general secretary of All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA), said: “Today, there is anger across the country due to this decision of the government. The BJP is using it to polarise its Hindu votes. BJP wants to get votes in 2022 on the basis of this incident that happened 20 years ago. But, we have to ask Prime Minister Modi why he is silent on the matter of Bilkis? We want to hear Bilkis name from Modi’s mouth. I dare him!”

In fact, AIDWA had called for protests across the country on Saturday. The women’s organisation informed that similar protests and resistance meetings have been and are taking place in all the states of the country including Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M) Politburo member and AIDWA’s National Vice President Subhashani Ali along with two others, has challenged the decision in the Supreme Court as well. Talking to NewsClick, Ali said: “It is not just a question of justice for women, but whether there will be rule of law in the country or not.”

She further said that people are angry with BJP because of this incident simply because it is against humanity. “This is a long battle that will be fought together,” Ali said.

Courtesy: Newsclick

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