The Supreme Court has left the door wide open regarding remission for the rapist-murderers, who were hailed as ‘Sanskari Brahmins’ by the Gujarat government. Without going into a debate about the Sanskari Brahmins of Hindutva, let the focus remain on the judgment delivered by the Supreme Court in the Bilkis Bano case.
It is horrifying to note that the 11 convicts in the case of the gang-rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat can approach the Maharashtra government with a request for remission of their sentences! The Supreme Court only found procedural fault about which the government had the legality to hear the plea for the remission of sentences. It did not put an end to the question of the release of the convicts. In any other civilized country, dangerous rapists and murderers will be sentenced until the end of their lives. Why was the death sentence not given in the rarest of rare cases? Was any stone left unturned in the brutality and cruelty inflicted on the pregnant Bilkis Bano by the 11 convicts? Bilkis Bano was running for her life. But the convicts had no mercy. They smashed her 3-year-old daughter by lifting and hurling her to the ground in front of her, and they also killed six members of her family. What was the wisdom in not giving the death sentence to the culprits? Imagine the judgment if the culprits were not Sanskari Brahmins.
The following are the 11 convicts who were released prematurely: Bakabhai Vohania, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Govind Nai, Jaswant Nai, Mitesh Bhatt, Pradeep Mordhiya, Radheshyam Shah, Rajubhai Soni, Ramesh Chandana, and Shailesh Bhatt. While ordering them to surrender before the jail authorities, the Supreme Court maintained that the status quo ante (the previously existing state of affairs) must be restored.
“…We say so for another reason: in the event, convicts are inclined to seek remission in accordance with the law, they have to be in prison as they cannot seek remission when on bail or outside the jail,” the bench observed.
Did the Supreme Court consider that Maharashtra is also ruled by the same anti-Muslim Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which was responsible for the Muslim Genocide along with other Hindu extremist organizations? It goes without saying that Maharashtra Chief Minister Shinde, who belongs to another anti-Muslim party, Shiv Sena’s faction, will not dance to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s hardcore anti-Muslim leader Narendra Modi’s tune and directive to favor and grant remission to all the 11 convicts. It was Narendra Modi who presided over the Muslim Genocide as the chief minister of Gujarat!
The ill-fated Bilkis Bano was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was raped while fleeing the horror of the communal riots. Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members killed in the riots. All 11 convicts were granted remission by the Gujarat government and released on Independence Day in 2022.
This has turned out to be a case of the magicians donning black coats. Lest they forget that justice delayed is justice denied! From the lower courts to the high courts and the Supreme Court, the judiciary seems to be increasingly failing in delivering justice. This does not augur well for our country. There must be a system in place to hold them accountable for lapses. When there is a beeline to curry favors from the governments of the day post-retirement, justice goes for a toss. The judiciary is supposed to be a watchdog. Otherwise, there is a danger of our country going to dogs!
