- The Bilkis Bano case garnered huge news headlines ever since it was first reported needs no elaboration. Any number of twists and twirls associated with the case is a stark reminder to the comprehending citizens as to how a case of such importance and ramifications should have been handled by the authorities concerned. Mind you, Indian citizens always look up to the higher judiciary, especially the Supreme Court, as the last resort available for seeking relief and justice. Most often than not, the SC has lived up to its expectations admirably reposing the faith shown by citizens. However, the government authorities – read as the executive – too should be equally diligent in observing the Constitutional norms harmoniously aiding the judiciary.
PC: Smaranika Sen
- The moot point to ponder over here is whether the same is observed in the right spirit. The answer will be a big no. The government in power always tends to side with the group influencing to alter the equations at the hustings. Look around the country, you will see polarization taking deeper roots by the day dividing the society vertically. Take for instance the Bilkiis Bano case convicts getting parole which hit the national headlines for all the wrong reasons. The Gujarat government affidavit to the Supreme Court shows that the now-free 11 gangrape-murder life convicts in the Bilkis Bano case enjoyed 1,000-plus days of parole and furlough each. This is not only unprecedented but also inexplicable showing sheer laxity on the part of the administration.
- When juxtaposed with the nature of the crime, this indicates how some local Gujarat jail and district officials viewed the case. Bilkis and her kin were concerned by the frequent paroles the convicts were enjoying but their RTI requests to get details were denied. Note that paroles can be progressive instruments of criminal justice, provided they are used with due attention to the nature of the crime. Now, look at the statistics of parole granted to convicts. How does one square this principle with the fact that Rameshbhai Chandana, one of the Bilkis case convicts, enjoyed 1,576 paroles and furloughs? That’s nearly five years of what turned out to be a 14-year term. In 2015, Chandana reported back 122 days late after a 14-day furlough.
PC: Quora Contributor
- Even this didn’t seem to have blotted his record. He went on furloughs and paroles after that, too. Similar good fortunes are enjoyed by Ram Rahim, convicted of three heinous crimes, who has had two paroles and one furlough already this year. Contrast this with tens of thousands in jail awaiting trial and many without even a bail hearing. Simply devastating. The ostensible reason for the release cited – an individual act of crime without affecting society at large. SC must ask whether the crime in the Bilkis case fits this criterion. The court may also note that the CBI officer and the Mumbai trial court judge as well as the SP, the DC of Dahod, and the principal district and sessions judge of Godhra too objected. Thus, the remission decisions need judicial scrutiny.
