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Breaking: TMC MP Mahua Moitra Moves Supreme Court Challenging Gujarat Govt's Decision For Premature Release Of Convicts In Bilkis Bano Case
Akshita Saxena
23 Aug 2022 11:34 AM IST
TMC MP Mahua Moitra has moved the Supreme Court challenging the release of all 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano Case on remission by the Gujarat government. Filed through Advocate Shadan Farasat, the public interest litigation states that the victim has legitimate apprehensions regarding the safety of her and her family members. "The release completely fails to bolster either social...
TMC MP Mahua Moitra has moved the Supreme Court challenging the release of all 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano Case on remission by the Gujarat government.
Filed through Advocate Shadan Farasat, the public interest litigation states that the victim has legitimate apprehensions regarding the safety of her and her family members.
"The release completely fails to bolster either social or human justice and does not constitute a valid exercise of the guided discretionary power of the State under Sections 432-435 Cr.P.C.," it states.
The PIL also mentions that the case was investigated by the CBI and thus, the Gujarat government has no power to grant remission/premature release under Section 432 CrPC without the express concurrence of the Central Government.
It adds that releasing all 11 convicts on premature release on the same day clearly indicates that the State Government has mechanically granted "wholesale" release without considering each individual case on merits.
"This vitiates the entire exercise of granting remission and is squarely in violation of this Hon'ble Court's judgments in Maru Ram v. Union of India, 1980 AIR SC 2147 and Sangeet v. State of Haryana, (2013) 2 SCC 452."
In Maru Ram (supra), the Top Court had held that the exercise of remission powers under the CrPC must "embrace reason, relevance, and reformation" as the determination of a convict's reformation is an inherently individual and case-to-case exercise.
Similarly, in Sangeet (supra), it was held that the in-built checks on the power to grant remission must be faithfully enforced, and that it was imperative to grant the same on a case-to-case basis and not in a wholesale manner.
Moitra has thus urged the Court to frame guidelines for grant of remission so as to channel the exercise of discretion and prevent its abuse, if necessary. She has also sought to ensure the equitable application of existing guidelines on powers of remission by the State Government.
