Home Ministry 'allowed' remission to Bilkis gangrape, murder convicts: Vrinda Grover

By A Representative
Top 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.

Comments

From Kerala to Bangladesh: Lynching highlights deep social faultlines

By A Representative The recent incidents of mob lynching—one in Bangladesh involving a Hindu citizen and another in Kerala where a man was killed after being mistaken for a “Bangladeshi”—have sparked outrage and calls for accountability.

What Sister Nivedita understood about India that we have forgotten

By Harasankar Adhikari In the idea of a “Vikshit Bharat,” many real problems—hunger, poverty, ill health, unemployment, and joblessness—are increasingly overshadowed by the religious contest between Hindu and Muslim fundamentalisms. This contest is often sponsored and patronised by political parties across the spectrum, whether openly Hindutva-oriented, Islamist, partisan, or self-proclaimed secular.

When a city rebuilt forgets its builders: Migrant workers’ struggle for sanitation in Bhuj

Khasra Ground site By Aseem Mishra* Access to safe drinking water and sanitation is not a privilege—it is a fundamental human right. This principle has been unequivocally recognised by the United Nations and repeatedly affirmed by the Supreme Court of India as intrinsic to the right to life and dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution. Yet, for thousands of migrant workers living in Bhuj, this right remains elusive, exposing a troubling disconnect between constitutional guarantees, policy declarations, and lived reality.

Policy changes in rural employment scheme and the politics of nomenclature

By N.S. Venkataraman* The Government of India has introduced a revised rural employment programme by fine-tuning the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which has been in operation for nearly two decades. The MGNREGA scheme guarantees 100 days of employment annually to rural households and has primarily benefited populations in rural areas. The revised programme has been named VB-G RAM–G (Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission – Gramin). The government has stated that the revised scheme incorporates several structural changes, including an increase in guaranteed employment from 100 to 125 days, modifications in the financing pattern, provisions to strengthen unemployment allowances, and penalties for delays in wage payments. Given the extent of these changes, the government has argued that a new name is required to distinguish the revised programme from the existing MGNREGA framework. As has been witnessed in recent years, the introdu...

Aravalli at the crossroads: Environment, democracy, and the crisis of justice

By Rajendra Singh* The functioning of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has undergone a troubling shift. Once mandated to safeguard forests and ecosystems, the Ministry now appears increasingly aligned with industrial interests. Its recent affidavit before the Supreme Court makes this drift unmistakably clear. An institution ostensibly created to protect the environment now seems to have strayed from that very purpose.

'Festive cheer fades': India’s housing market hits 17‑quarter slump, sales drop 16% in Q4 2025

By A Representative Housing sales across India’s nine major real estate markets fell to a 17‑quarter low in the October–December period of 2025, with overall absorption dropping 16% year‑on‑year to 98,019 units, according to NSE‑listed analytics firm PropEquity. This marks the weakest quarter since Q3 2021, despite the festive season that usually drives demand. On a sequential basis, sales slipped 2%, while new launches contracted by 4%.

'Structural sabotage': Concern over sector-limited job guarantee in new employment law

By A Representative The advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has raised concerns over the passage of the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (VB–G RAM G), which was approved during the recently concluded session of Parliament amid protests by opposition members. The legislation is intended to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

Safety, pay and job security drive Urban Company gig workers’ protest in Gurugram

By A Representative Gig and platform service workers associated with Urban Company have stepped up their protest against what they describe as exploitative and unsafe working conditions, submitting a detailed Memorandum of Demands at the company’s Udyog Vihar office in Gurugram. The action is being seen as part of a wider and growing wave of dissatisfaction among gig workers across India, many of whom have resorted to demonstrations, app log-outs and strikes in recent months to press for fair pay, job security and basic labour protections.

India’s universities lag global standards, pushing students overseas: NITI Aayog study

By Rajiv Shah A new Government of India study, Internationalisation of Higher Education in India: Prospects, Potential, and Policy Recommendations , prepared by NITI Aayog , regrets that India’s lag in this sector is the direct result of “several systemic challenges such as inadequate infrastructure to provide quality education and deliver world-class research, weak industry–academia collaboration, and outdated curricula.”

Search This Blog