Editor's Pick | SC sets aside release of 11 convicts in Bilkis Bano case

The Supreme Court on Monday quashed the order of en masse remission granted by Gujarat in August 2022 to 11 men sentenced to life imprisonment for the gang rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of her family, including a two-month-old infant, during the 2002 riots. Monday’s judgment came as a blow to the Centre, which had approved the premature release. Terming what befell Ms. Bano and her family as a “grotesque and diabolical crime driven by communal hatred”, a Bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan delivered a scathing reprimand of the ruling BJP government in Gujarat for acting “in tandem” with the prisoners to order their early release after “usurping the power” to do so. The Court ordered the men to report back to jail in a fortnight, declining their fervent plea to sympathise with them and not strip their personal liberty away. “Can rule of law surrender to liberty earned as a consequence of its breach? Can breach of rule of law be ignored in order to protect a person’s liberty that he is not entitled to? Should the scales of justice tilt against rule of law? Only when the rule of law prevails will liberty and all other fundamental rights prevail under our Constitution… Rule of law does not mean the protection of a fortunate few,” Justice Nagarathna responded. The Court said Gujarat did not have the jurisdiction to grant remission to the convicts. The case was transferred by the SC in August 2004 from Gujarat to Maharashtra and the CBI Special Judge in Greater Mumbai had convicted the 11 men and sentenced them to life imprisonment in January 2008. Hence, the Court clarified it was Maharashtra, where the 11 men were tried and sentenced, and not Gujarat which was the “appropriate government” to grant remission. Justice Nagarathna held that an SC order in 2022 allowing Gujarat to consider the remission applications under the State’s remission policy of 1992 was procured by fraud, suppression and misrepresentation of material facts. The Court further cautioned States from exercising the power of remission in an arbitrary fashion. “There has to be an application of mind on the remission application so as to eliminate discretionary en masse release of convicts on ‘festive’ occasions. Each release requires a case-by-case scrutiny,” the Bench observed in its verdict. After the SC overturned the Gujarat government’s decision, Bilkis Bano said “she felt justice.” “This is what justice feels like. 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 said in a statement. The Opposition also hailed the verdict, with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge claiming that the ruling exposed the “misdeeds” of the Home Ministry and the Gujarat government. The SC verdict is a searing indictment of the Gujarat government for aiding convicts’ release, says an editorial in today’s The Hindu. “The ruling represents a blow for the rule of law and the restoration of faith in the judiciary at a time when there are doubts about the institution’s capacity to hold power to account. On merits, it is a timely reiteration of the core principles that animate exercise of the power to grant remission — that it should be fair and reasonable and based on a set of relevant parameters such as whether the crime involved affected society at large, whether the convict retained the potential for committing similar offences or is capable of reform,” it adds. Editorials Unlawful remission: On the Bilkis Bano case Sibling rivalry: On Y.S. Sharmila emerging from Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s shadow The Hindu Daily News Quiz What is the youth wing of the CPI(M) called? ABVP Democratic Youth Federation of India Young Socialists of India Communist Youth Federation of India To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 09 January 2024 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( SC sets aside release of 11 convicts in Bilkis Bano case The [Supreme Court on Monday quashed the order of en masse remission]( granted by [Gujarat in August 2022 to 11 men sentenced to life imprisonment]( for the gang rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of her family, including a two-month-old infant, during the 2002 riots. Monday’s judgment came as a blow to the Centre, which had approved the premature release. Terming [what befell Ms. Bano and her family as a “grotesque and diabolical crime]( driven by communal hatred”, a Bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan [delivered a scathing reprimand of the ruling BJP government in Gujarat for acting “in tandem”]( with the prisoners to order their early release after “usurping the power” to do so. The Court ordered the men to report back to jail in a fortnight, declining their fervent plea to sympathise with them and [not strip their personal liberty away.]( “Can rule of law surrender to liberty earned as a consequence of its breach? Can breach of rule of law be ignored in order to protect a person’s liberty that he is not entitled to? Should the scales of justice tilt against rule of law? Only when the rule of law prevails will liberty and all other fundamental rights prevail under our Constitution… Rule of law does not mean the protection of a fortunate few,” Justice Nagarathna responded. The Court said Gujarat did not have the jurisdiction to grant remission to the convicts. The case was transferred by the SC in August 2004 from Gujarat to Maharashtra and the CBI Special Judge in Greater Mumbai had convicted the 11 men and sentenced them to life imprisonment in January 2008. Hence, the Court clarified it was Maharashtra, where the 11 men were tried and sentenced, and not Gujarat which was the “appropriate government” to grant remission. Justice Nagarathna held that an SC order in 2022 allowing Gujarat to consider the remission applications under the State’s remission policy of 1992 was procured by fraud, suppression and misrepresentation of material facts. The Court further [cautioned States from exercising the power of remission in an arbitrary fashion](. “There has to be an application of mind on the remission application so as to eliminate discretionary en masse release of convicts on ‘festive’ occasions. Each release requires a case-by-case scrutiny,” the Bench observed in its verdict. After the SC overturned the Gujarat government’s decision, [Bilkis Bano said “she felt justice]( “This is what justice feels like. 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 said in a statement. The Opposition also hailed the verdict, with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge claiming that the [ruling exposed the “misdeeds” of the Home Ministry and the Gujarat government](. The SC verdict is a [searing indictment of the Gujarat government for aiding convicts’ release]( says an editorial in today’s The Hindu. “The ruling represents a blow for the rule of law and the restoration of faith in the judiciary at a time when there are doubts about the institution’s capacity to hold power to account. On merits, it is a timely reiteration of the core principles that animate exercise of the power to grant remission — that it should be fair and reasonable and based on a set of relevant parameters such as whether the crime involved affected society at large, whether the convict retained the potential for committing similar offences or is capable of reform,” it adds. Editorials [Arrow][Unlawful remission: On the Bilkis Bano case]( [Arrow][Sibling rivalry: On Y.S. Sharmila emerging from Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s shadow]( The Hindu Daily News Quiz What is the youth wing of the CPI(M) called? - ABVP - Democratic Youth Federation of India - Young Socialists of India - Communist Youth Federation of India To know the answer and to play the full quiz, [click here](. 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