Eleven men who were sentenced to life imprisonment in 2008 for the gang rape of Bilkis Bano (she was pregnant then) and the murder of her family members in 2002 were released this week from a jail in Gujarat. A Special Central Bureau of Investigation Court had sentenced the men to life imprisonment in 2008. Their release seems unjust and the subsequent celebration of their release by some is revolting. While the applicable law in this case, on the face of it, seems to give the power to the Gujarat government to release these men, serious questions about the legality of the decision have emerged. However, the injustice, in this case, goes beyond questions of legality or illegality. It runs deeper. Therefore, it is crucial to locate the source of this injustice.
Remission policy
As in most States, Gujarat’s current remission policy (it adopted a new and revised remission policy for prisoners in 2014), makes those convicted of rape ineligible for premature release. However, the Supreme Court of India had earlier ruled that the remission question in this case would be governed by the remission policy of 1992 that was in force at the time of conviction which did not exclude those convicted of rape from executive remission. Is the injustice in this case to be located in the fact that the 1992 policy allowed remission to this category of offenders? Does justice demand that certain categories of offenders be ineligible for remission? Before we get to these questions, a brief explanation on remission and premature release is called for.
