New Delhi: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi finds nothing wrong in the premature release of 11 men convicted of raping Bilkis Bano and killing seven members of her family during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
The parliamentary affairs minister was quoted in a report: “I find nothing wrong in it as it is a process of law.” The minister said there was a provision for release for convicts who have spent quite some time in prison. “Accordingly, as per law, it is done,” he added.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would hear on 29 November the pleas challenging the remission of sentence and the release of these 11 convicts.
Senior CPI (M) leader Subhashini Ali, independent journalist Revati Laul and former vice chancellor of Lucknow University Roop Rekha Verma filed the public interest litigation against the convicts’ early release.
The Gujarat government on Monday had told the apex court that these women were nothing but “interlopers” and “busybodies”.
It also said since the investigation in the case was carried out by the CBI, it had obtained “suitable orders” for grant of remission of the convicts from the Centre.
The state government further told the top court that it decided to release the convicts because they had “completed 14 years and above in prison… their behaviour was found to be good” and that the Centre had also “conveyed (its) concurrence/approval”.
The Union Home Ministry had approved their release within two weeks of Gujarat’s request on 28 June, reports said.
Bilkis Bano was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was gang-raped while fleeing the riots that broke out after the torching of the Godhra train. Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members killed.
The 11 men convicted in the case walked out free from the Godhra sub-jail on 15 August after the Gujarat government allowed their release under its remission policy. They had completed more than 15 years in jail.
The convicts were Jaswantbhai Nai, Govindbhai Nai, Shailesh Bhatt, Radheshyam Shah, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Pradeep Mordhiya, Bakabhai Vohania, Rajubhai Soni, Mitesh Bhatt, and Ramesh Chandana.
Both the state and central governments ignored strong objections from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and a Mumbai judge over freeing these men.
A CBI official had said the offence committed was “heinous, grave and serious” and hence they “cannot be released prematurely and no leniency may be given” to them.
Also read: ‘PM has only betrayed women,’ Rahul slams Modi over remission in Bilkis Bano case