New Delhi, April 18
The apex court, while questioning the remission of 11 men convicted of raping Bilkis Bano and killing her family members during the 2002 post-Godhra riots, on Tuesday noted that the gravity of the offence could have been considered by the state.
“A pregnant woman was gang-raped and several people were killed. You cannot compare the victim’s case with standard section 302 (murder) cases. Like you cannot compare apples with oranges, similarly massacre cannot be compared with single murder. Crimes are generally committed against society and the community. Unequals cannot be treated equally. The question is whether the government applied its mind and what material formed the basis of its decision to grant remission,” it said.
“Today it’s Bilkis but tomorrow it can be anyone. It may be you or me. If you do not show your reasons for grant of remission, then we will draw our own conclusions,” the Bench said.
Showing reluctance to produce the files related to the premature release of the convicts, the Centre and the Gujarat Government told the Supreme Court that they may seek review of its March 27 order for producing the original files in the case.
As Additional Solicitor General SV Raju said the Centre and the Gujarat government would take a call on seeking review of the order for production of original files relating to the decision to grant remission to the convicts, a Bench of Justice KM Joseph and Justice BV Nagarathna commented that their stand amounted to contempt of court as they were insisting on not producing the files without having filed a review plea.
“What is the problem in showing us (files) today? You are in contempt for not producing it. Why are you shying away? You did not file a review; we never stopped you,” Justice Joseph told Raju.
Asking the Centre and the Gujarat Government to spell out their stand on filing of a review petition, the Bench posted the petitions challenging the remission to the 11 convicts in the case for hearing on May 2. It also asked the convicts to file their replies.
Bilkis Bano, pregnant at the time of crime, was gang-raped and her three-year-old daughter Saleha and 13 others were killed by a mob on March 3, 2002 in Dahod during violence that broke out in Gujarat after the Sabarmati Express was attacked in Godhra and 59 ‘kar sevaks’, were burnt to death.
The Supreme Court had handed over the probe to the CBI and the trial was shifted to Mumbai where a Sessions Court in 2008 convicted 11 accused of gangrape and murder and awarded life imprisonment to them. Later, the conviction was upheld by the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court.
The 11 convicts prematurely released on August 15, 2022 were Jaswant Nai, Govind Nai, Shailesh Bhatt, Radhyesham Shah, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Pradeep Mordhiya, Bakabhai Vohania, Rajubhai Soni, Mitesh Bhatt and Ramesh Chandana. They were said to have been released due to completion of 15 years in prison, besides their age and behaviour during incarceration.
