A court document showing the early release of 11 men convicted of gang rape of Bilkis Bano and murder of her family during the 2002 Gujarat riots was approved by the Home Office within two hours. week and the CBI and a special court objected to the clearance.
The Gujarat government on Monday told the Supreme Court that the men had been released because they had served 14 years in prison and their conduct was deemed good, and the center had also announced its approval. their.
The state sought the center’s approval to pardon 11 convicts on June 28, 2022, which the department approved on July 11, shows the affidavit.
The convicts were released on Independence Day under the state government’s outdated amnesty policy, sparking a major political controversy. While such a release needed approval from the Union Interior Ministry, the state did not clarify on the clearance, leaving it a gray area.
The affidavit filed with the Supreme Court said the Union Home Office approved the early release through a letter of July 11, 2022. The letter from the department, accessed by NDTV, said it gives “the consent/approval of the Central government under section 435 of the CrPc on early release…”
The highest court is hearing three petitions for the men’s release. The documents show that the CBI and a special civil judge opposed their early release.
The CBI, in a letter to sub-prison director Godhra last year, said the offense committed was “disgusting, serious and serious” and therefore they “cannot be released. early and no leniency” for them.
The special judge also objected to their early release, noting that “crimes are committed only when the victim belongs to a particular religion. In this case, even minors were not spared “.
Critics have questioned whether the Union Home Office would allow the release, as current laws in both the center and the state contain restrictions on early release for convicts. rape or sentenced to life in prison.
This provision was not included in Gujarat’s 1992 waiver policy, on the basis of which an advisory committee recommended the release of men.
One of the petitioners argued that the case had been investigated by the CBI, and therefore it is “unacceptable” for the Gujarat government to only grant an exemption without any consultation with the central government. be” under the obligations of Section 435 of the Penal Code. Procedure, 1973.
The court has asked the Gujarat government to submit a complete record of the proceedings in the Bilkis Bano case, including the pardon granted to the convicts.
Seven members of Bilkis Bano’s family were murdered in front of her eyes – among them her three-year-old daughter, whose head was smashed by a rock. Seven other relatives, who she said were also killed, were declared “missing”.
The woman, 21 years old and 5 months pregnant at the time, was gang raped. The family was attacked as they hid in a field in Gujarat’s Dahod, as violence swept through the state following the attack on the Sabarmati Express in which 59 ‘kar sevaks’ died.
Their level of brutality earned Bilkis Bano the highest compensation ever in a rape case – a job, a house and Rs 50 lakh – awarded by the Supreme Court in 2019.
The convicts were sentenced to life imprisonment by a special court in Mumbai, the high court was subsequently upheld.
Bilkis Bano said she was not consulted or informed of the decision.
NDTV has found that 5 out of 10 members of the Gujarat government’s advisory committee, which proposed the release, have connections to the BJP.
Opposition parties have fiercely attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the move, which came within hours after he praised “Nari Shakti” in his Independence Day speech, and said it was the “real face” of New India under the BJP.
Asaduddin Owaisi, head of AIMIM, said the Gujarat government has released those convicted of violating the government’s interior ministry guidelines.
