In our opinion: Was offering remission to the culprits involved in Bilkis Bano's case an exception?

On August 15, 11 convicts in the case relating to Bilkis Bano during the 2002 Gujarat Riots were released. The 11 convicts were serving life sentences, and the jail time was commuted. Bilkis was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was gang-raped while fleeing riots. In this incident, her three-year-old daughter along with six others were killed.

Menaka and Padmapriya DVL discuss the stringent remission policy, its fairness in the context of Bilkis Bano convicts, and remission and other reformative practices that should be available to more prisoners. We spoke to Anup Surendranath, Nikita Sonavane, and Mrinalini Ravindranath.

Anup Surendranath teaches law at the National Law University, Delhi and is the executive director of Project 39 A- a criminal justice programme which works with death penalty convicts, and others. Nikita is the co-founder of the Criminal Justice and Police Accountability Project in Bhopal, while Mrinalini is the research head there.

References

Special Remission Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) (Module in ePrisons) Ministry of Home Affairs
Section 435 in The Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973
Convicts in Bilkis Bano case came out on frequent parole as witnesses cited threats | Cities News,The Indian Express
‘There is fear’: Muslim families flee village, take shelter in relief colony | Cities News,The Indian Express
Bilkis Bano Case : Supreme Court Erred In Holding That Gujarat Govt Has Power To Decide Remission - Sr Adv Rebecca John
From Segregation to Labour, Manu’s Caste Law Governs the Indian Prison System
Special Remission Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) (Module in ePrisons) Ministry of Home Affairs

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