New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday cornered the Gujarat government over the reasons for premature release of 11 life convicts in Bilkis Bano case. A bench of justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna verbally observed that the power to release on remission must be exercised keeping in view public interest and society at large, given the nature of crime.
Gujarat government may ask the Supreme Court to review the order which had been provided for the Bilkis Bano Case. This request took place on 27 March when Gujarat and Centre decided to ask the Supreme Court for the same. They want to see the documents of the eleven people convicted for the Bilkis Bano Gang-rape case.
Ms Bano was just a 21-year-old girl who suffered from a Gang-rape while she was five months pregnant. This incident occurred during the Gujarat Godhra Train burning incident, which later became a riot. Bano even lost her three-year-old daughter in this incident. Ms Bano was the victim of this case, and seven members of her family had already been killed due to the Gujarat Riots, which took place in the year 2002. Her family members are unhappy after the premature release of all the eleven culprits of the case.
The Judges have questioned the Government for the same, and these justices include KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna. They even said that the state should know how long the punishment lasts for these things. Some news agencies have reported what the Supreme Court said about this situation. The Supreme Court noted, “A pregnant woman was gang-raped, and several people were killed. You cannot compare the victim’s case with standard Section 302 (murder of Indian Penal Code) cases. Like you cannot compare apples with oranges, similarly massacre cannot be compared with a single murder. Crimes are generally committed against society and the community. Unequals cannot be treated equally,”
It has been confirmed that the Supreme Court will hear all the requests which took place in the past few months on 2nd May. Further, the convicts have been ordered to send their replies who have yet to serve any notice to.