“Courts have to dispense justice and not see that justice is dispensed with,” – Hon’ble Justice B. V. Nagarathna
In a case that has captured national attention, Bilkis Bano, a survivor of the harrowing 2002 Gujarat riots, sought justice for the heinous crimes inflicted upon her family and herself. Bilkis Bano was subjected to a brutal gang rape while fleeing the violence during the Gujarat riots which claimed the lives of seven of her family members, including her three-year-old daughter. Eleven individuals were convicted in connection with these horrific crimes, sentenced to life imprisonment for multiple murders and gang rape.
However, a contentious decision by the Gujarat government in 2022 led to the early release of these convicts. Relying on a 1992 policy, which had since been superseded by a 2014 law prohibiting releases in capital offence cases, the state sanctioned their remission, sparking widespread controversy. On Independence Day of of 2022, the convicts were allowed to walk free which raising serious concerns about justice and accountability.
Responding to this miscarriage of justice, Bilkis Bano approached the Supreme Court, filing a writ petition to challenge the premature release of the convicts. The case, heard by a bench comprising Justice B. V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan, spanned 11 days of intense hearings.
Today, on January 8, the Supreme Court delivered a landmark verdict, setting aside the remission granted to the convicts serving life sentences for multiple murders, including the brutal gang rape of Bilkis Bano. The court declared the remission orders invalid, mandating the convicts, who were released prematurely in August 2022, to surrender themselves to the authorities within two weeks. The court further stated that the government of Gujarat failed to file a review against the order, when the latter had earlier already stated that the Government of Gujarat was not the right authority of decide upon the remission of the convicts and the same would fall under the jurisdiction of the state of Maharashta.
The Hon’ble Court further found that the government of Gujarat did not fall under the purview of ‘appropriate government’ as mentioned in Section 432 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and that the rule of law had been breached since the same caused usurpation of power with the government of Gujarat overriding jurisdiction and doing the work of the Maharashtra Government. Not only this, but the earlier judgment of May 2022 was a result of suppression of facts done by the convict pleading remission in the Supreme Court.
Further, the court also refused to use its unique discretion under Article 142 and to provide liberty to the convicts who had already faced 14 years imprisonment; enunciating the principle of rule of law and positioning objectiveness over sympathy and arbitrariness.
This decisive ruling marks a significant step towards upholding justice and ensuring accountability for the reprehensible crimes committed during the 2002 Gujarat riots. It stands as a testament to Bilkis Bano’s unwavering pursuit of justice and the judiciary’s commitment to ensuring fairness and righteousness in the face of adversity.
AUTHORED BY: ARCHI JAIN AND SWATI AGRAWAL
