INTRODUCTION
Bilki’s Bano was a 21-year-old Muslim woman
who was brutally gang-raped on 3rd March
2002.
She was 5 months pregnant at the time. 3 months was attempting to flee the riots with her family when she was confronted by a mob of 20-30 men, out of which 11 men raped her, and other women and committed mass murders.
What is REMISSION?
“Remission” is the reduction of a criminal’s sentence without changing the type of punishment, simply shortening the time served. The State may release convicts early under the remission policy, after considering factors such as good conduct, reformation, time served, and health.
Rapist Released
11 convicts were released from prison as per the 1992 remission policy following a decision by the Gujarat High Court. 1992 Remission Policy – The Remission Policy that
was notified in 1992- and which was in force at the time of the crime (2002) and conviction (2008) – permitted prisoners to apply for remission “on the basis that life imprisonment is an arbitrary or notional figure of twenty years of imprisonment”. The policy was invalidated in 2012.
In September 2023,
Bilkis Bano approached the Supreme Court and wrote a petition challenging the premature release of the 11 convicts.
Jan 8, 2024:
SC quashes remission to II convicts, saying the orders were “stereotyped” and passed
without application of mind. SC directs convicts to surrender to jail authorities within two weeks.
THE VERDICT
The State of Gujarat was deemed inappropriate to decide on remission pleas due to the trial being transferred to Maharashtra. Consequently, the remission orders were set aside.
Justice Nagarathna invoked Plato’s philosophy, stating that punishment should aim at prevention and reformation, not just vengeance.
