Supreme Court judge, Justice Ajay Rastogi on Thursday questioned that merely because the brutalities against Bilkis Bano were horrific, does it mean that the release of 11 rapists and murderers was wrong
Bilkis Bano had moved the Supreme Court to challenge the premature release of 11 rapists and murderers by Gujarat’s BJP government. The matter came for hearing before a Supreme Court Bench comprising CJI NV Ramana and Justices Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath.
Kapil Sibal, who was representing Bano in the matter, sought to highlight the magnitude of brutalities committed against her during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
According to LiveLaw, source Justice Rastogi, said, “Whatever they have committed, they have been convicted. The question is whether they are justified in considering remission.”
CJI Ramana, who retires at the end of this month, said, “I am not a party to the judgment. I read somewhere Court has granted permission for remission. No, Court said only to consider.”
It it to be remined immediate after rmission by bjp government in Gujarat the ruling party sitting MLA from Godhra, CK Raulji, said Bilkis Bano’s rapists were Brahmin, men of good upbringing ..
CJI Ramana directed the Gujarat government to file its reply. But Justice Rastogi once again stated that ‘day in and day out remission is granted to convicts of life sentence.’ He asked, “What is the exception (here)?”
Bano’s rapists, convicted by the judiciary, were released from jail on the advice of the BJP government in Gujarat. All 11 rapists received hero welcome after walking out of jail. The video of 11 dreaded rapists and murderers receiving a warm welcome had shocked the world.
Reacting to their release, Bano had said that her grief was not hers alone but ‘for every woman who is struggling for justice in courts.’
Bano had said that the decision to release her rapists and murderers of her child had shaken her belief in India’s justice system.
