Remembering the Bilkis
Bano case:
In March 2002, amidst the aftermath of the Godhra
riots, a woman named Bano was reportedly subjected to a brutal gang rape and
abandoned along with 14 members of her family, including her three-year-old
daughter. The attack occurred in Vadodara, and Bano, who was five months
pregnant at the time, faced the horrific assault during the communal violence.
The case was itself raises the question on humanity,
Remission of the convicts
and PIL filed against the remission:
On Thursday, the Supreme Court reserved its decision on petitions challenging
the premature release of convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case. The
court instructed the Centre and the Gujarat government to submit original
records related to the sentence remission of the convicts by October 16. The
bench, comprising Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan, reserved its order
after hearing arguments from Bilkis Bano’s counsel and representatives for the
Centre, Gujarat government, and other PIL petitioners.
Apart from Bilkis Bano’s petition contesting the remission granted by
the Gujarat government, several other Public Interest Litigations (PILs)
have been filed, including ones by CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali,
independent journalist Revati Laul, and former vice-chancellor of Lucknow
University Roop Rekha Verma. TMC MP Mahua Moitra has also filed a PIL
challenging the remission and premature release of the convicts.
In August 2022, the
Gujarat government released 11 convicts, who had been sentenced to life
imprisonment, in accordance with the remission policy applicable at the
time of their conviction in 2008. It is really disheartening to say that in a country where women are place
at the position of ‘’Devi‘’ (lords) ,
where women are worshipped within that same country a women have to struggle for the
justice especially after being subjected as
the victim of the gruesome and cruel act like gang rape.
Bilkis Bano and other
challenged the premature release against the accused.
Take
of Gujrat government:
Earlier, the Gujarat government had defended remission
granted and saying they completed 14 years of sentence in prison and their
“behaviour was found to be good”.
The State government had said it has considered the cases
of all 11 convicts as per the policy of 1992 and remission was granted on
August 10, 2022, and the Central government also approved the release of
convicts.
Response of
Bilkis Bano:
Bilkis Bano challenge the remission and this grant of
remission to the convicts have shaken the country Bilkis Bano said she have
been the victim of most gruesome crime this country have ever seen and said ‘’she
was well shocked and completely numb…’’ after convicts were released.
