Hyderabad 19 Aug : Telangana Legislative Council member Kalvakuntla Kavitha has written to the Chief Justice of India N.V.Ramana asking him to intervene in order that the release of 11 convicts in Bilkis Bano rape case is immediately withdrawn. Bilkis Bano was just 21 years old and was pregnant at the time of the gangrape.was committed in the 2002 Gujarat violence.On August 15 the Gujarat government released the 11 convicts
“Crimes like rape, for instance, shake the very foundation of our moral conscience.
witnessing rape smugglers who have been convicted leave the streets in an occasion like our Independence Day sends shivers down the spine of every woman, and in fact all citizens who put their trust in the law of the nation as well as the justice system of our nation,” wrote Kavitha, who is the daughter of the Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao.
“I appeal to the Honourable Supreme Court of India to safeguard the faith of the nation in our law, as well as in human rights by intervening in this case to ensure that the verdict of the release of the convicts mentioned above is immediately withdrawn,” she added.
Kavitha spoke about legal and technical aspects, pointing out the fact that “this investigation was conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The CBI was the Special CBI Court that sentenced the convicts.Section 435 (1) (a) of the Criminal Procedure Code states that the power of the state government to reduce or change sentences in any case examined by the CBI is not granted by the state administration only after consulting with the central government”.
She said that whether the release of the 11 convicts in this instance was done in collaboration with the Central government isn’t clear.
The former MP claimed that the Gujarat government was based on a 1992 law, while the state’s revised policy of 2014 following the Supreme Court order would have made the convicts ineligible to the remission.
She was reminded that the Supreme Court in its order of November 20, 2012 had noted that the powers of remission of the relevant government shouldn’t be used arbitrarily and should be used with certain inherent checks on the substantive and procedural aspects on the power in question.
“Bilkis Bano was aged 21 and 5 months pregnant this horrific crime occurred and to think of her witnessing her rapists escaping with impunity, only to be presented with a robe and a celebration for their release must have shaken her.” she added.
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