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Supreme Court advocate Vrinda Grover has said that the Union Ministry
of Home Affairs under Amit Shah has "allowed" the controversial
remission granted to 11 gang rape and murder convicts in the Bilkis Bano
case on August 15. Speaking in Ahmedabad before Gujarat activists
gathered for a lecture in memory of well-known state high court lawyer
Girish Patel, she said, “It is mandatory for the Central government to
approve the remission.”
Grover, a human rights lawyer, said, there is
“radio silence” on the part of the Government of India on providing
remission, despite so much of noise around it. However, the very fact
that the committee appointed by the Gujarat government for giving
remission is legally bound to take the approval of the Central
government suggests that without the latter’s approval the remission
would not have happened.
“Hence, I assume the Ministry of Home
Affairs concurrence was taken”, Grover underlined, regretting, however,
“No documents have been made public on the process of remission”, which
she described as part of the “impunity of a majoritarian penal, carceral
state”. It suggests a pattern in India. Human rights activists are put
in jail. they are being cut off from victims of state oppression. The
Bhima Koregaon case and the recent arrest of Teesta Setalvad and RB
Srikumar suggests exactly this, she said.
Stating that there is a
controversy around the 1992 policy under which the state government
allowed the 11 convicts to go free after 15 years of imprisonment, she
said, “This policy also requires the advise of the convicting judge of
the CBI court Justice UD Salve (retired), who sentenced the 11 accused
to life imprisonment in 2008. Salve is on record of having said his
advise not not taken.” She added, as for the Government of India’s own
recent remission policy, it does not allow freeing those convicted of
murder and gang rape.
Citing an Indian Express report, she said, already, one can see the impact of the decision to free the convicts of murder and gang rape. The Muslims of Randhikpur, the village of Bilkis Bano, are fleeing from their residence, suggesting the “impunity of the majoritarian state”.
Praising Bilkis Bano and her husband of withstanding the powerful majoritarian state despite being illiterate, she commended the civil rights organisation and activists without naming them for standing by her all through her ordeal.
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