Bilkis Bano case convicts released on policy govt told HC to have ceased in 2014

The Gujarat govt's order which allowed remittance plea of 11 convicts in Bilkis Bano gangrape case citing 1992 policy appears to be a contradiction in its approach

Mushrafkhan Pathan has served over 25 years of life imprisonment at Sabarmati Central Jail in Radhika Gymkhana killing case. His remission plea was rejected by the state government based on the 2014 remission policy. He approached Gujarat High Court, which in April asked the state government to consider his case as per the remittance policy of 1992 and decide within six weeks. Pathan continues to be in jail.

Similarly, the Jail Advisory Committee rejected the remission plea of Mohammed Umar alias Fighter, serving life imprisonment of 20 years for murdering ex-Congress parliamentarian Rauf Valliullah in 1992, based on 2014 remission policy. He sought relief on the ground of 1992 policy which entitles a convict sentenced to life imprisonment to be considered for remission after completing 14 years of imprisonment. Fighter has been behind the bars for over 22 years. The High Court, on July 7, quashed the committee's order and directed the state to reconsider his case in four weeks. Fighter is still in jail.

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The state government's Jail Advisory Committee's order on Monday which allowed remission plea of all 11 convicts in Bilkis Bano gang-rape case citing 1992 policy appears to be a contradiction in state government's approach. The government has said that since 11 were convicted in 2008, they were required to be dealt with by policy prevalent in 1992 as per Supreme Court order, while the relief to Pathan and Fighter were rejected citing 2014 policy despite the period of their convictions by special TADA courts much before the year 2008. In the case of Pathan and Fighter, the Gujarat High Court had told the state to consider their plea of remission based on 1992 policy.

"We have only followed the Honorable Supreme Court's direction, which had made the issues of jurisdiction and application of new or previous policies very clear. The order stated that the Gujarat government will have the jurisdiction to decide the remission, and it would be based on 1992 policy," Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Raj Kumar told DH.

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He was referring to the Supreme Court's order on the petition filed by Radheshyam Shah, one of the convicts in Bilkis Bano case. He approached the apex court after Gujarat High Court rejected his remission plea over a jurisdictional issue since the trial of the case had taken place in Mumbai. The apex court held that since the crime was committed in Gujarat and the trial was transferred due to exceptional circumstances, the final jurisdiction of remittance will be of Gujarat government. The bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath had also held that Shah would be covered under the 1992 policy which was prevailing at the time of offence.

"Giving remission is the discretionary power of the executive or state government under CrPC 432 (7). However, there can't be two standards of exercising this power. On one hand, the government is rejecting pleas of similarly placed convicts on the ground of the 2014 policy while exonerating others applying the old law the government says doesn't exist," said a noted criminal lawyer requesting anonymity.

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The Jail Advisory Committee has a district magistrate as its chairman with district sessions judge, superintendent of police, district social welfare officer, two local members as its members and jail superintendent as its member secretary. The 2014 policy circular states, "The Jail Advisory Committee shall consider the seriousness of crime, the conduct in jail, the status of co-accused..."

On March 3, 2002, days after the burning of the Sabarmati Express at Godhra station, Bilkis Bano, then 19 years old and five months pregnant, was escaping rioters along with her family, when she was attacked by an armed mob at Randhikpur village, Dahod district. Fourteen members of her family were killed, including her daughter, mother Halima and cousin Shamim. Bilkis was gangraped.

On January 21, 2008, a special CBI court in Mumbai sentenced the 11 convicts to life in prison on the charges of gang rape and the murder of seven family members of Bilkis Bano. The Bombay High Court in 2017 confirmed the conviction. Her husband Yakub Rasul told DH that his family was shocked by the state government's decision.