Convicts don’t deserve remission: Bilkis Bano to Supreme Court | India News

NEW DELHI: Challenging Gujarat government‘s decision to prematurely release 11 prisoners convicted for gang raping her and killing 14 members of her family during riots, Bilkis Bano told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that the decision to remit their sentences was taken without considering the nature of the offence and they do not deserve it as they are not at all remorseful of their deeds.

Advocate Shobha Gupta, appearing for the Bano, made a bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan to go through the relevant documents related to the decision and submitted that there was “not a whisper on the nature of the crime committed by them and the way in which it was executed”.
She submitted that their premature release would possibly disturb peace in society and that was the reason why the trial court, the CBI and other authorities including jail officials opined against their remission of sentence though the jail advisory committee recommended their premature release.

The bench thereafter asked whether any of the convicts expressed repentance or remorse about the crime. Senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for one of the petitioners in the case, replied that despite being convicted they are saying that they did not commit the crime.
“They have been garlanded & felicitated. Statements have been made that they are Brahmins & can’t commit such crimes. There’s denial that crime was committed,” Jaising told the bench.
Additional solicitor general S V Raju, however, countered Jaising’s submission and said that, “what is wrong with garlanding a family member who comes out of jail.”
Gupta also raised the point that Gujarat government had no jurisdiction to decide their remission as they were tried and convicted by a trial court in Maharashtra and it is the Maharashtra government which can decide their premature release.
Bano was 21 years old and was five months pregnant when she was gang-raped and her three-year-old daughter was also among the seven family members who were murdered.
Challenging the state’s decision, the petitioners said remission was granted without giving any reason and despite written objection by a special CBI judge and SP of CBI who conducted the probe. A batch of petitions was filed in the SC by activists and politicians soon after all the 11 convicts were granted remission and released on August 15 last year.