Express News Service
NEW DELHI: Terming the gang-rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots as horrendous, the Supreme Court on Monday sought response from the Centre, the Gujarat government and the 11 convicts whose remission of life imprisonment was challenged by the victim and social activists.
The convicts were released on August 15 last year by the Gujarat government. A bench of Justices K M Joseph and B V Nagarathna asked if the state had applied the remission policy uniformly for all convicts languishing in jail.
“We have before us many murder cases where convicts are languishing in jails seeking remission. Is this a case where standards have been applied uniformly as in other cases too?” Justice Joseph asked. While posting the case for April 18, the court said it would not be “overwhelmed by emotions” and would only go by law.
Remarking that the pleas involved a gamut of issues, the bench asked as to whether the Gujarat government could exercise its power of granting remission and could the SC cloak an authority with the power to grant remission when the body could not do so legally.
Advocate Shobha Gupta for Bilkis told the court that CrPC was clear on the fact that the remission was to be decided only by the state where the trial was held. “The presiding judge of the trial court said no remission should be granted. The CBI also said remission should not be given… Both the policies of state and the Union bar the remission,” advocate Vrinda Grover submitted.
MHA’s approvalAdditional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the Union home ministry, said the remission had the ministry’s approval
NEW DELHI: Terming the gang-rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots as horrendous, the Supreme Court on Monday sought response from the Centre, the Gujarat government and the 11 convicts whose remission of life imprisonment was challenged by the victim and social activists.
The convicts were released on August 15 last year by the Gujarat government. A bench of Justices K M Joseph and B V Nagarathna asked if the state had applied the remission policy uniformly for all convicts languishing in jail.
“We have before us many murder cases where convicts are languishing in jails seeking remission. Is this a case where standards have been applied uniformly as in other cases too?” Justice Joseph asked. While posting the case for April 18, the court said it would not be “overwhelmed by emotions” and would only go by law.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
Remarking that the pleas involved a gamut of issues, the bench asked as to whether the Gujarat government could exercise its power of granting remission and could the SC cloak an authority with the power to grant remission when the body could not do so legally.
Advocate Shobha Gupta for Bilkis told the court that CrPC was clear on the fact that the remission was to be decided only by the state where the trial was held. “The presiding judge of the trial court said no remission should be granted. The CBI also said remission should not be given… Both the policies of state and the Union bar the remission,” advocate Vrinda Grover submitted.
MHA’s approval
Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the Union home ministry, said the remission had the ministry’s approval
