Bilkis Bano case: Supreme Court asks if convicts have fundamental right to seek remission

The Supreme Court Wednesday sought to know whether a convict can seek remission of his sentence as a fundamental right, while considering a plea against premature release of 11 life term convicts in the Bilkis Bano case.

A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan asked if Article 32 of the Constitution, under which a plea is filed for the enforcement of fundamental rights, could be invoked by convicts seeking remission.

A counsel, representing one of the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case, submitted that they have been out for more than a year after release from the jail and the court should not snatch away their liberty.

The counsel argued that only Article 226 petitions, which have to be filed before the high courts, are maintainable to challenge the grant or rejection of remission.

“Is the right to seek remission a fundamental right," the bench asked.

The counsel argued that such a petition could not be filed by the petitioners, who have challenged the premature release of convicts in the Bilkis Bano case, since their fundamental rights have not been breached.

The counsel said once his client has been released from the jail, his liberty cannot be affected and the petitioners are now seeking to curtail fundamental right to liberty, and that cannot be done under Article 32.

The counsel contended that even under CrPC (Criminal Procedure Code), victims and complainants have a limited role, and once a sentence has been passed, the role of the victim ceases.

It was argued before the bench that convicts rights and the balance of convenience should be taken into consideration in the matter.

The hearing, which remained inconclusive would continue on October 4.

The court is seized of petitions, including by Bilkis Bano, challenging the decision of the Gujarat government to grant remission to 11 convicts who had gang-raped the victims and murdered her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots.