News Analysis India

Tag: Gujarat riots

  • ‘Conspiracy was hatched to defame Gujarat globally post 2002 riots’, claims PM Modi

    Express News Service

    AHMEDABAD: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday, claimed that there had been a conspiracy to defame Gujarat globally in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat riots and accused the then central government of showing indifference to the state’s development. Modi made these remarks as part of his address at the 20th anniversary of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in Ahmedabad.

    He said he was a first-time chief minister and faced crises such as the 2001 earthquake, preceding drought years, the collapse of cooperative banks, the 2002 Godhra tragedy and the state-wide violence in its aftermath.

    Addressing the gathering, PM Modi remarked: “In 2001, there was an uproar in the economic life of Gujarat. In a way, the financial sector of Gujarat was in crisis. At that time, I had become an MLA for the first time, this role was also new for me, I had no experience of running a government. But the challenge was huge.”

    “Meanwhile, another incident happened. The heart-wrenching incident of Godhra took place and in the circumstances that followed, Gujarat burst into flames of violence. Hardly anyone would have imagined such a dire situation. Even though I did not have much experience as a Chief Minister at that time, I had unwavering faith in Gujarat and the people of Gujarat.” he added.

    Attacking the opposition, the PM said “Those who carry an agenda were busy analyzing the events in their own way even at that time. It was said that youth from Gujarat, industries from Gujarat, businessmen from Gujarat will all move out, migrate and Gujarat will be so ruined that it will become a huge burden for the country.”

    “A conspiracy was hatched to defame Gujarat before the world. An attempt was made to create an atmosphere of despair. It was said that Gujarat would never be able to stand on its own feet. Even in that crisis, I resolved that no matter what the circumstances were, I would take Gujarat out of it.” he claimed.

    The Prime Minister remembered the indifference of the then-central government towards Gujarat.

    “…Those who ran central government earlier used to link Gujarat’s development with politics. Ministers from the central government refused to come to the Vibrant Gujarat Summit. They used to threaten foreign investors and attempted to stop them from coming to Gujarat. Even after so much threatening, foreign investors came to Gujarat” Modi alleged.

    The prime minister said this was possible because of good governance, fair and policy-driven governance, and an equal system of growth and transparency, despite no special incentive.

    The Prime Minister explained the success of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit through its journey.

    The 2003 edition attracted only a few hundred participants; today more than 40000 participants and delegates and 135 countries take part in the summit, he informed. The number of exhibitors has also increased from 30 in 2003 to more than 2000 today.

    He said that India has become the third-largest economy in the world. He asked the industrialists to focus on sectors that will help with new possibilities for India. He asked for a discussion to take place in the startup ecosystem, agri-tech, food processing, and Shri Anna.

    Later, Prime Minister Modi also inaugurated development projects worth Rs 5,206 crore in Chhota Udepur, Gujarat, which includes the provision of village Wi-Fi facilities in 22 districts. The PM also discussed about the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’ in Vadodara.

    AHMEDABAD: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday, claimed that there had been a conspiracy to defame Gujarat globally in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat riots and accused the then central government of showing indifference to the state’s development. Modi made these remarks as part of his address at the 20th anniversary of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in Ahmedabad.

    He said he was a first-time chief minister and faced crises such as the 2001 earthquake, preceding drought years, the collapse of cooperative banks, the 2002 Godhra tragedy and the state-wide violence in its aftermath.

    Addressing the gathering, PM Modi remarked: “In 2001, there was an uproar in the economic life of Gujarat. In a way, the financial sector of Gujarat was in crisis. At that time, I had become an MLA for the first time, this role was also new for me, I had no experience of running a government. But the challenge was huge.”googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    “Meanwhile, another incident happened. The heart-wrenching incident of Godhra took place and in the circumstances that followed, Gujarat burst into flames of violence. Hardly anyone would have imagined such a dire situation. Even though I did not have much experience as a Chief Minister at that time, I had unwavering faith in Gujarat and the people of Gujarat.” he added.

    Attacking the opposition, the PM said “Those who carry an agenda were busy analyzing the events in their own way even at that time. It was said that youth from Gujarat, industries from Gujarat, businessmen from Gujarat will all move out, migrate and Gujarat will be so ruined that it will become a huge burden for the country.”

    “A conspiracy was hatched to defame Gujarat before the world. An attempt was made to create an atmosphere of despair. It was said that Gujarat would never be able to stand on its own feet. Even in that crisis, I resolved that no matter what the circumstances were, I would take Gujarat out of it.” he claimed.

    The Prime Minister remembered the indifference of the then-central government towards Gujarat.

    “…Those who ran central government earlier used to link Gujarat’s development with politics. Ministers from the central government refused to come to the Vibrant Gujarat Summit. They used to threaten foreign investors and attempted to stop them from coming to Gujarat. Even after so much threatening, foreign investors came to Gujarat” Modi alleged.

    The prime minister said this was possible because of good governance, fair and policy-driven governance, and an equal system of growth and transparency, despite no special incentive.

    The Prime Minister explained the success of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit through its journey.

    The 2003 edition attracted only a few hundred participants; today more than 40000 participants and delegates and 135 countries take part in the summit, he informed. The number of exhibitors has also increased from 30 in 2003 to more than 2000 today.

    He said that India has become the third-largest economy in the world. He asked the industrialists to focus on sectors that will help with new possibilities for India. He asked for a discussion to take place in the startup ecosystem, agri-tech, food processing, and Shri Anna.

    Later, Prime Minister Modi also inaugurated development projects worth Rs 5,206 crore in Chhota Udepur, Gujarat, which includes the provision of village Wi-Fi facilities in 22 districts. The PM also discussed about the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’ in Vadodara.

  • Relief to Teesta Setalvad: Supreme Court grants bail to activist in post-Godhra riots cases

    By Online Desk

    The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted regular bail to activist Teesta Setalvad in cases linked to the post-2002 Godhra riots in Gujaray. The apex court said that since the chargesheet has been filed, no custodial interrogation was necessary.

    The court said that the activist would be treated as on continuous bail since September 2, 2022 but ordered her not to influence witnesses. 

    The bench also gave the Gujarat police permission to directly move the SC if any attempt is made to influence witnesses.

    Setalvad was taken into custody on June 25 last year along with former Gujarat Director General of Police R B Sreekumar and ex-IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in a case registered by the Ahmedabad crime branch police for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame innocent people in the post-Godhra riots cases.

    The Supreme Court also set aside July 1 order of Gujarat HC that asked activist Teesta Setalvad to surrender in case linked to post-Godhra riots.

    Setalvad, a vocal critic of the then Gujarat government, was released from jail in September last year after she received interim bail from the Supreme Court.

    The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted regular bail to activist Teesta Setalvad in cases linked to the post-2002 Godhra riots in Gujaray. The apex court said that since the chargesheet has been filed, no custodial interrogation was necessary.

    The court said that the activist would be treated as on continuous bail since September 2, 2022 but ordered her not to influence witnesses. 

    The bench also gave the Gujarat police permission to directly move the SC if any attempt is made to influence witnesses.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    Setalvad was taken into custody on June 25 last year along with former Gujarat Director General of Police R B Sreekumar and ex-IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in a case registered by the Ahmedabad crime branch police for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame innocent people in the post-Godhra riots cases.

    The Supreme Court also set aside July 1 order of Gujarat HC that asked activist Teesta Setalvad to surrender in case linked to post-Godhra riots.

    Setalvad, a vocal critic of the then Gujarat government, was released from jail in September last year after she received interim bail from the Supreme Court.

  • Gujarat court acquits 22 accused in post-Godhra riots case

    By PTI

    GODHRA:  A court at Halol town in Gujarat’s Panchmahal district has acquitted 22 people, accused of killing 17 members of a minority community including two children, for want of evidence in a case stemming from the 2002 post-Godhra communal riots in the state.

    According to the prosecution, the victims were killed on February 28, 2002 and their bodies burnt with an intention to destroy evidence.

    The court of Additional Sessions Judge Harsh Trivedi on Tuesday acquitted all the 22 accused, eight of whom died during the pendency of the case, defence lawyer Gopalsinh Solanki said.

    “The court acquitted all the accused in the case of rioting and murder of 17 members of a minority community, including two children, in Delol village of the district for want of evidence, Solanki said.

    Communal riots had broken out in different parts of the state a day after a bogie of the Sabarmati Express was torched by a mob near Godhra town in Panchmahal district on February 27, 2002, killing 59 passengers, most of them ‘karsevaks’ returning from Ayodhya.

    An FIR (first information report) was lodged under Indian Penal Code sections pertaining to murder and rioting after the violence in Delol village.

    Another police inspector lodged a case afresh nearly two years after the incident and arrested 22 people for their alleged involvement in the riots.

    The prosecution was unable to gather enough evidence against the accused persons, and even witnesses turned hostile, Solanki said. The defence lawyer said the bodies of the victims were never found.

    Police recovered bones from an isolated place on the banks of a river, but they were charred to such an extent that the identity of the victims could not be established, he said.

    “Because of lack of evidence, the court acquitted all the 22 accused, eight of whom died during the trial,” he said.

    GODHRA:  A court at Halol town in Gujarat’s Panchmahal district has acquitted 22 people, accused of killing 17 members of a minority community including two children, for want of evidence in a case stemming from the 2002 post-Godhra communal riots in the state.

    According to the prosecution, the victims were killed on February 28, 2002 and their bodies burnt with an intention to destroy evidence.

    The court of Additional Sessions Judge Harsh Trivedi on Tuesday acquitted all the 22 accused, eight of whom died during the pendency of the case, defence lawyer Gopalsinh Solanki said.

    “The court acquitted all the accused in the case of rioting and murder of 17 members of a minority community, including two children, in Delol village of the district for want of evidence, Solanki said.

    Communal riots had broken out in different parts of the state a day after a bogie of the Sabarmati Express was torched by a mob near Godhra town in Panchmahal district on February 27, 2002, killing 59 passengers, most of them ‘karsevaks’ returning from Ayodhya.

    An FIR (first information report) was lodged under Indian Penal Code sections pertaining to murder and rioting after the violence in Delol village.

    Another police inspector lodged a case afresh nearly two years after the incident and arrested 22 people for their alleged involvement in the riots.

    The prosecution was unable to gather enough evidence against the accused persons, and even witnesses turned hostile, Solanki said. The defence lawyer said the bodies of the victims were never found.

    Police recovered bones from an isolated place on the banks of a river, but they were charred to such an extent that the identity of the victims could not be established, he said.

    “Because of lack of evidence, the court acquitted all the 22 accused, eight of whom died during the trial,” he said.

  • Top Indian university bans screening of BBC series on PM Modi

    By AFP

    NEW DELHI: A top Indian university has banned the screening of a BBC documentary about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role during the deadly 2002 sectarian riots after his government attempted to block its spread online.

    The broadcaster’s programme alleges that the Hindu nationalist Modi, premier of Gujarat state at the time, ordered police to turn a blind eye to an orgy of violence there that left at least 1,000 people dead, most of them minority Muslims.

    Students at the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi had planned to screen the documentary on Tuesday, defying efforts by Indian authorities to restrict its showing.

    But a memo from the university’s registrar late on Monday ordered students to cancel the event and warned it would take “strict disciplinary action” if its edict was disobeyed. “Such an unauthorised activity may disturb peace and harmony of the university campus,” it said.

    Modi’s government has been accused of stifling dissent by free-speech activists and opposition leaders for years.

    On Saturday it used emergency powers under India’s controversial information technology laws to block the documentary from being shared on social media.

    Government adviser Kanchan Gupta slammed the series as “hostile propaganda and anti-India garbage” disguised as a documentary.

    India’s order to social media platforms to block links to the documentary “flagrantly contradicts the country’s stated commitment to democratic ideals”, Beh Lih Yi of the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement on Monday.

    The 2002 riots in Gujarat began after 59 Hindu pilgrims were killed in a fire on a train. Thirty-one Muslims were convicted of criminal conspiracy and murder over that incident.

    The two-part BBC documentary cited a previously classified British foreign ministry report quoting unnamed sources saying that Modi met senior police officers and “ordered them not to intervene” in the attacks on Muslims that followed. It also said the violence was “politically motivated” and the aim “was to purge Muslims from Hindu areas.”

    The riots were impossible “without the climate of impunity created by the State Government… Narendra Modi is directly responsible,” it concluded.

    Modi ran Gujarat from 2001 until his election as prime minister in 2014 and briefly faced a travel ban by the United States over the violence.

    An investigation team appointed by the Indian Supreme Court to probe the role of Modi and others in the violence said in 2012 it did not find any evidence to prosecute him.

    NEW DELHI: A top Indian university has banned the screening of a BBC documentary about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role during the deadly 2002 sectarian riots after his government attempted to block its spread online.

    The broadcaster’s programme alleges that the Hindu nationalist Modi, premier of Gujarat state at the time, ordered police to turn a blind eye to an orgy of violence there that left at least 1,000 people dead, most of them minority Muslims.

    Students at the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi had planned to screen the documentary on Tuesday, defying efforts by Indian authorities to restrict its showing.

    But a memo from the university’s registrar late on Monday ordered students to cancel the event and warned it would take “strict disciplinary action” if its edict was disobeyed. “Such an unauthorised activity may disturb peace and harmony of the university campus,” it said.

    Modi’s government has been accused of stifling dissent by free-speech activists and opposition leaders for years.

    On Saturday it used emergency powers under India’s controversial information technology laws to block the documentary from being shared on social media.

    Government adviser Kanchan Gupta slammed the series as “hostile propaganda and anti-India garbage” disguised as a documentary.

    India’s order to social media platforms to block links to the documentary “flagrantly contradicts the country’s stated commitment to democratic ideals”, Beh Lih Yi of the Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement on Monday.

    The 2002 riots in Gujarat began after 59 Hindu pilgrims were killed in a fire on a train. Thirty-one Muslims were convicted of criminal conspiracy and murder over that incident.

    The two-part BBC documentary cited a previously classified British foreign ministry report quoting unnamed sources saying that Modi met senior police officers and “ordered them not to intervene” in the attacks on Muslims that followed. It also said the violence was “politically motivated” and the aim “was to purge Muslims from Hindu areas.”

    The riots were impossible “without the climate of impunity created by the State Government… Narendra Modi is directly responsible,” it concluded.

    Modi ran Gujarat from 2001 until his election as prime minister in 2014 and briefly faced a travel ban by the United States over the violence.

    An investigation team appointed by the Indian Supreme Court to probe the role of Modi and others in the violence said in 2012 it did not find any evidence to prosecute him.

  • Justice Bela Trivedi recuses from hearing Bilkis Bano’s plea challenging release of rapists

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Supreme Court judge Justice Bela M Trivedi on  Tuesday recused herself from hearing Bilkis Bano’s plea challenging the release of 11 rapists who walked free on August 15, 2022.

    When the bench of justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi took up the matter for hearing, Justice Rastogi said that his sister judge will not like to hear the case.

    “List the matter before a bench in which one of us is not a member,” the bench ordered. The bench did not specify any reason for the recusal of justice Trivedi.

    In her plea against the grant of remission which had led to the release of the convicts on August 15, Bano has said the state government passed a “mechanical order” completely ignoring the requirement of law as laid down by the Supreme Court.

    Bano was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was gangraped while fleeing the riots that broke out after the Godhra train burning incident in Gujarat. Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members killed.

    Stating that the paper for premature release of the convicts was not shared with her despite reminders, Bano in her petition said, “The Supreme Court already declared that enmasse remissions are not permissible and that remission cannot be sought or granted as a matter of right of the convict without examining the case of each convict individually based on their peculiar facts and role played by them in the crime.”

    As the nation was celebrating its 76th Independence Day, all the convicts were released prematurely and were garlanded and felicitated in full public glare and sweets were circulated, she wrote in her petition. The petitioner further wrote that this ‘celebration’ was how she along with the nation came to know about the “premature release of all the convicts of one of the most gruesome crimes this country has ever seen.”

    Women’s rights activist Subhashini Ali has also challenged the release of the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case.

    The Gujarat government in their response stated that the state decided to release the 11 convicts as their “behaviour was found to be good”, and after approval from the central government.

    ALSO READ | Will fight again, against what is wrong: Bilkis on remission given to her rapists

    It also added that the opinions of the Inspector General of Prisons, Gujarat State, Jail Superintendents, Jail Advisory Committee, District Magistrate, Police Superintendent, CBI, Special Crime Branch, Mumbai and Hon. Sessions Court, Mumbai (CBI) were considered. 

    Bilkis has also sought a review of the top court’s May 13 order (passed by the bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath) where the court while considering a writ petition by one of the convicts Radhey Shyam had directed the Gujarat government to consider releasing him on the basis of the Gujarat government’s 1992 remission policy within two months.

    The 1992 policy did not prohibit the remission of rape, gang rape or murder convicts.

    Bilkis Bano’s review plea was also heard in the chambers on Tuesday. The order, however, hasn’t been uploaded yet. 

    A special CBI court in Mumbai had on January 21, 2008 sentenced the 11 to life imprisonment. It was then upheld by the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court.

    The 11 men convicted in the case walked out of the Godhra sub-jail on August 15. They had completed more than 15 years in jail.

    NEW DELHI: Supreme Court judge Justice Bela M Trivedi on  Tuesday recused herself from hearing Bilkis Bano’s plea challenging the release of 11 rapists who walked free on August 15, 2022.

    When the bench of justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi took up the matter for hearing, Justice Rastogi said that his sister judge will not like to hear the case.

    “List the matter before a bench in which one of us is not a member,” the bench ordered. The bench did not specify any reason for the recusal of justice Trivedi.

    In her plea against the grant of remission which had led to the release of the convicts on August 15, Bano has said the state government passed a “mechanical order” completely ignoring the requirement of law as laid down by the Supreme Court.

    Bano was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was gangraped while fleeing the riots that broke out after the Godhra train burning incident in Gujarat. Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members killed.

    Stating that the paper for premature release of the convicts was not shared with her despite reminders, Bano in her petition said, “The Supreme Court already declared that enmasse remissions are not permissible and that remission cannot be sought or granted as a matter of right of the convict without examining the case of each convict individually based on their peculiar facts and role played by them in the crime.”

    As the nation was celebrating its 76th Independence Day, all the convicts were released prematurely and were garlanded and felicitated in full public glare and sweets were circulated, she wrote in her petition. The petitioner further wrote that this ‘celebration’ was how she along with the nation came to know about the “premature release of all the convicts of one of the most gruesome crimes this country has ever seen.”

    Women’s rights activist Subhashini Ali has also challenged the release of the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case.

    The Gujarat government in their response stated that the state decided to release the 11 convicts as their “behaviour was found to be good”, and after approval from the central government.

    ALSO READ | Will fight again, against what is wrong: Bilkis on remission given to her rapists

    It also added that the opinions of the Inspector General of Prisons, Gujarat State, Jail Superintendents, Jail Advisory Committee, District Magistrate, Police Superintendent, CBI, Special Crime Branch, Mumbai and Hon. Sessions Court, Mumbai (CBI) were considered. 

    Bilkis has also sought a review of the top court’s May 13 order (passed by the bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath) where the court while considering a writ petition by one of the convicts Radhey Shyam had directed the Gujarat government to consider releasing him on the basis of the Gujarat government’s 1992 remission policy within two months.

    The 1992 policy did not prohibit the remission of rape, gang rape or murder convicts.

    Bilkis Bano’s review plea was also heard in the chambers on Tuesday. The order, however, hasn’t been uploaded yet. 

    A special CBI court in Mumbai had on January 21, 2008 sentenced the 11 to life imprisonment. It was then upheld by the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court.

    The 11 men convicted in the case walked out of the Godhra sub-jail on August 15. They had completed more than 15 years in jail.

  • SC to hear Bilkis Bano’s plea challenging premature release of 11 convicts on Dec 13

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will consider Bilkis Bano’s plea on December 13. The plea challenges the release of 11 convicts who walked free on August 15, 2022 when the country was celebrating its 76th Independence Day. The pleas will be heard by a bench of Justice Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi. 

    Bilkis was gang raped by a mob during the Godhra riots in Gujarat when she was 20 years and five months pregnant. 

    Bilkis in her writ petition wherein she has challenged their remission and premature release has termed Gujarat government’s remission order as “mechanical”. 

    Contending that the paper for “premature release” of the convicts was not shared with her despite reminders, the petition says, “SC already declared that en masse remissions are not permissible and that remission cannot be sought or granted as a matter of right of the convict without examining the case of each convict individually based on their peculiar facts and role played by them in the crime.”

    “That when the nation was celebrating its 76th Independence Day, all the convicts were released prematurely and were garlanded and felicitated in full public glare and sweets were circulated and this is how she along with the entire nation and the whole world came to know about the shocking news of premature release of all the convicts of one of the most gruesome crime this country has ever seen,” the writ petition also states. 

    ALSO READ | Bilkis Bano case convict was booked for outraging woman’s modesty while on parole in 2020

    Apart from Bilkis, women’s rights activists including Subhashini Ali have also challenged the release of the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case. The plea challenging the remission becomes significant against the backdrop of Gujarat government as well as the accused (RadheyShyam) questioning the locus of the women rights activists challenging their release. 

    Bilkis has also sought review of Top Court’s May 13 order passed by the bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath wherein the court while considering a writ by one of the convicts RadheyShyam had directed the Gujarat government to consider releasing him on the basis of Gujarat government’s 1992 Remission policy within two months. The 1992 policy did not prohibit the remission of rape, gang rape or murder convicts. The review plea is yet to be listed. 

    Earlier, a bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud had said that he would examine the issue of whether both pleas can be heard together and if the same can be heard before the same bench. 

    It has been argued in the review petition that Bilkis who is the victim was not even made a party in one of the convicts, states RadheyShyam’s plea before the SC. With regards to the delay in filing the review petition, the plea says, “took enormous efforts and time for the present review petitioner- victim of one of the most gruesome and inhuman communal hate crime this country has ever witnessed, to collect courage and regroup herself to decide to hold the baton once again, after just getting over with the extremely excruciating 17 years long drawn legal battle in ensuring that her culprits are punished for the egregious crime they had committed.”

    Seeking listing of the plea in “open court”, she has stated that the “appropriate government” to consider the application of the remission of the convicts is the State of Maharashtra and not the State of Gujarat. 

    The Gujarat government in its 477-page affidavit had told the SC that the state decided to release the 11 convicts on completion of their 14 years of the sentence as their “behaviour was found to be good” after approval from the central government.

    It also added that the opinions of the Inspector General of Prisons, Gujarat State, Jail Superintendents, Jail Advisory Committee, District Magistrate, Police Superintendent, CBI, Special Crime Branch, Mumbai and Hon. Sessions Court, Mumbai (CBI) were considered. The state also asserted that third-party strangers were precluded from questioning a remission order passed by the State government which is strictly in accordance with the law. 

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will consider Bilkis Bano’s plea on December 13. The plea challenges the release of 11 convicts who walked free on August 15, 2022 when the country was celebrating its 76th Independence Day. The pleas will be heard by a bench of Justice Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi. 

    Bilkis was gang raped by a mob during the Godhra riots in Gujarat when she was 20 years and five months pregnant. 

    Bilkis in her writ petition wherein she has challenged their remission and premature release has termed Gujarat government’s remission order as “mechanical”. 

    Contending that the paper for “premature release” of the convicts was not shared with her despite reminders, the petition says, “SC already declared that en masse remissions are not permissible and that remission cannot be sought or granted as a matter of right of the convict without examining the case of each convict individually based on their peculiar facts and role played by them in the crime.”

    “That when the nation was celebrating its 76th Independence Day, all the convicts were released prematurely and were garlanded and felicitated in full public glare and sweets were circulated and this is how she along with the entire nation and the whole world came to know about the shocking news of premature release of all the convicts of one of the most gruesome crime this country has ever seen,” the writ petition also states. 

    ALSO READ | Bilkis Bano case convict was booked for outraging woman’s modesty while on parole in 2020

    Apart from Bilkis, women’s rights activists including Subhashini Ali have also challenged the release of the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case. The plea challenging the remission becomes significant against the backdrop of Gujarat government as well as the accused (RadheyShyam) questioning the locus of the women rights activists challenging their release. 

    Bilkis has also sought review of Top Court’s May 13 order passed by the bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath wherein the court while considering a writ by one of the convicts RadheyShyam had directed the Gujarat government to consider releasing him on the basis of Gujarat government’s 1992 Remission policy within two months. The 1992 policy did not prohibit the remission of rape, gang rape or murder convicts. The review plea is yet to be listed. 

    Earlier, a bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud had said that he would examine the issue of whether both pleas can be heard together and if the same can be heard before the same bench. 

    It has been argued in the review petition that Bilkis who is the victim was not even made a party in one of the convicts, states RadheyShyam’s plea before the SC. With regards to the delay in filing the review petition, the plea says, “took enormous efforts and time for the present review petitioner- victim of one of the most gruesome and inhuman communal hate crime this country has ever witnessed, to collect courage and regroup herself to decide to hold the baton once again, after just getting over with the extremely excruciating 17 years long drawn legal battle in ensuring that her culprits are punished for the egregious crime they had committed.”

    Seeking listing of the plea in “open court”, she has stated that the “appropriate government” to consider the application of the remission of the convicts is the State of Maharashtra and not the State of Gujarat. 

    The Gujarat government in its 477-page affidavit had told the SC that the state decided to release the 11 convicts on completion of their 14 years of the sentence as their “behaviour was found to be good” after approval from the central government.

    It also added that the opinions of the Inspector General of Prisons, Gujarat State, Jail Superintendents, Jail Advisory Committee, District Magistrate, Police Superintendent, CBI, Special Crime Branch, Mumbai and Hon. Sessions Court, Mumbai (CBI) were considered. The state also asserted that third-party strangers were precluded from questioning a remission order passed by the State government which is strictly in accordance with the law. 

  • Bail pleas of some convicts in Godhra train burning case opposed by Gujarat in SC

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Gujarat government has opposed in the Supreme Court the bail pleas of some convicts of the 2002 Godhra train burning case, saying they were not mere stone-pelters and their acts prevented people from escaping the burning coach.

    On February 27, 2002, 59 people were killed when the S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express was burnt at Godhra, triggering riots in the state.

    The matter came up for hearing on Friday before a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha.

    The apex court, while asking the state to specify the individual roles of the convicts, observed that bail pleas of those who were accused of stone pelting could be considered as they have already spent 17-18 years in jail.

    Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state of Gujarat, said these convicts threw stones on the train which prevented people from escaping the burning coach.

    “It is not a case of mere stone pelting,” he told the bench.

    Mehta told the bench that appeals filed by the convicts in the top court against the October 2017 verdict of the Gujarat High Court, which had upheld their conviction in the case, could be listed for hearing.

    He told the bench that he would examine the individual roles of these convicts and apprise the bench about it. The bench has posted the matter for further hearing on December 15.

    In its October 2017 judgement, the high court had commuted to life imprisonment the death sentence awarded to 11 convicts in the Godhra train burning case. It had upheld the life sentence awarded to 20 other convicts in the case.

    On November 11, the apex court had extended the period of interim bail granted to one of the convicts until March 31, 2023.

    It had noted that on May 13, the top court had granted him interim bail for six months on the ground that his wife was suffering from terminal stage cancer and his daughters were differently-abled.

    In its November 11 order, the bench had noted that having due regard to the situation which continues to subsist, “we extend the period of interim bail until March 31, 2023 on the same terms and conditions”.

    NEW DELHI: The Gujarat government has opposed in the Supreme Court the bail pleas of some convicts of the 2002 Godhra train burning case, saying they were not mere stone-pelters and their acts prevented people from escaping the burning coach.

    On February 27, 2002, 59 people were killed when the S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express was burnt at Godhra, triggering riots in the state.

    The matter came up for hearing on Friday before a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha.

    The apex court, while asking the state to specify the individual roles of the convicts, observed that bail pleas of those who were accused of stone pelting could be considered as they have already spent 17-18 years in jail.

    Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state of Gujarat, said these convicts threw stones on the train which prevented people from escaping the burning coach.

    “It is not a case of mere stone pelting,” he told the bench.

    Mehta told the bench that appeals filed by the convicts in the top court against the October 2017 verdict of the Gujarat High Court, which had upheld their conviction in the case, could be listed for hearing.

    He told the bench that he would examine the individual roles of these convicts and apprise the bench about it. The bench has posted the matter for further hearing on December 15.

    In its October 2017 judgement, the high court had commuted to life imprisonment the death sentence awarded to 11 convicts in the Godhra train burning case. It had upheld the life sentence awarded to 20 other convicts in the case.

    On November 11, the apex court had extended the period of interim bail granted to one of the convicts until March 31, 2023.

    It had noted that on May 13, the top court had granted him interim bail for six months on the ground that his wife was suffering from terminal stage cancer and his daughters were differently-abled.

    In its November 11 order, the bench had noted that having due regard to the situation which continues to subsist, “we extend the period of interim bail until March 31, 2023 on the same terms and conditions”.

  • Will fight again, against what is wrong: Bilkis Bano on remission given to her rapists

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: “I will stand and fight again, against what is wrong and for what is right,” said Bilkis Bano, who has moved the Supreme Court challenging the remission and release of 11 convicts in the 2002 case related to her gangrape and murder of seven members of her family.

    Bano was 21 years old and five-month pregnant when she was gangraped while fleeing the 2002 Gujarat riots that broke out after the Godhra train burning incident.

    Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members killed.

    In her two separate petitions, she has challenged the premature release of the convicts by the Gujarat government on August 15, saying it has “shaken the conscience of society”.

    In a statement, issued on Thursday, she said, “The decision to once again stand up and knock on the doors of justice was not easy for me. For a long time, after the men who destroyed my entire family and my life were released, I was simply numb. I was paralysed with shock and with fear for my children, my daughters, and above all, paralysed by loss of hope.”

    She added, “But, the spaces of my silence were filled with other voices; voices of support from different parts of the country that have given me hope in the face of unimaginable despair; and made me feel less alone in my pain. I cannot express in words what this support has meant to me.”

    ALSO READ | Bilkis Bano case: Convicts released for good behaviour, Gujarat govt to SC

    Bano said the support to her cause from different parts of the country has helped her in rekindling her faith in humanity and renewed her courage to believe again in the idea of justice.

    “So, I will stand and fight again, against what is wrong and for what is right. I do this today for myself, for my children, and for women everywhere”, she said.

    NEW DELHI: “I will stand and fight again, against what is wrong and for what is right,” said Bilkis Bano, who has moved the Supreme Court challenging the remission and release of 11 convicts in the 2002 case related to her gangrape and murder of seven members of her family.

    Bano was 21 years old and five-month pregnant when she was gangraped while fleeing the 2002 Gujarat riots that broke out after the Godhra train burning incident.

    Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members killed.

    In her two separate petitions, she has challenged the premature release of the convicts by the Gujarat government on August 15, saying it has “shaken the conscience of society”.

    In a statement, issued on Thursday, she said, “The decision to once again stand up and knock on the doors of justice was not easy for me. For a long time, after the men who destroyed my entire family and my life were released, I was simply numb. I was paralysed with shock and with fear for my children, my daughters, and above all, paralysed by loss of hope.”

    She added, “But, the spaces of my silence were filled with other voices; voices of support from different parts of the country that have given me hope in the face of unimaginable despair; and made me feel less alone in my pain. I cannot express in words what this support has meant to me.”

    ALSO READ | Bilkis Bano case: Convicts released for good behaviour, Gujarat govt to SC

    Bano said the support to her cause from different parts of the country has helped her in rekindling her faith in humanity and renewed her courage to believe again in the idea of justice.

    “So, I will stand and fight again, against what is wrong and for what is right. I do this today for myself, for my children, and for women everywhere”, she said.

  • SC to consider listing Bilkis Bano’s plea challenging the release of her rapists

    By Online Desk

    The Supreme Court will consider hearing Bilkis Bano’s plea challenging the release of 11 men convicted of gang-raping her in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

    Advocate Shobha Gupta, representing Bano, mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud. Gupta contended that chances were slim that the bench led by justice Ajay Rastogi would be able to hear the matter, as he was now a part of a constitution bench hearing.

    Bano has also moved a review petition against the apex court judgment allowing the Gujarat government to decide on the remission of the convicts.

    ALSO READ: Bilkis Bano case convict was booked for outraging woman’s modesty while on parole in 2020

    The Chief Justice said that the review has to be heard first and let it come before Justice Rastogi. Gupta submitted that the matter had to be heard in an open court. The Chief Justice said only the court can decide that, and added that he will decide on the listing after looking into the matter this evening.

    In May this year, the apex court had ruled that the Gujarat government can consider the remission request as the offence took place in Gujarat. Based on this ruling, the Gujarat government decided to release all 11 convicts.

    The high court had held that the Maharashtra government should consider the remission since the trial in the case was conducted there after the transfer from Gujarat.

    ALSO READ | Bilkis Bano case: Convicts released for good behaviour, Gujarat govt to SC

    (With online desk inputs)

    The Supreme Court will consider hearing Bilkis Bano’s plea challenging the release of 11 men convicted of gang-raping her in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

    Advocate Shobha Gupta, representing Bano, mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud. Gupta contended that chances were slim that the bench led by justice Ajay Rastogi would be able to hear the matter, as he was now a part of a constitution bench hearing.

    Bano has also moved a review petition against the apex court judgment allowing the Gujarat government to decide on the remission of the convicts.

    ALSO READ: Bilkis Bano case convict was booked for outraging woman’s modesty while on parole in 2020

    The Chief Justice said that the review has to be heard first and let it come before Justice Rastogi. Gupta submitted that the matter had to be heard in an open court. The Chief Justice said only the court can decide that, and added that he will decide on the listing after looking into the matter this evening.

    In May this year, the apex court had ruled that the Gujarat government can consider the remission request as the offence took place in Gujarat. Based on this ruling, the Gujarat government decided to release all 11 convicts.

    The high court had held that the Maharashtra government should consider the remission since the trial in the case was conducted there after the transfer from Gujarat.

    ALSO READ | Bilkis Bano case: Convicts released for good behaviour, Gujarat govt to SC

    (With online desk inputs)

  • Bilkis Bano approaches Supreme Court challenging release of 11 convicts

    Express News Service

    Bilkis Bano has approached Supreme Court challenging top court’s May 13, 2022 ruling, as per which the bench has asked the Gujarat government to consider pre mature release of the convicts on the basis of 1992 policy. 

    Five-months pregnant Bano was gang-raped and her three-year-old daughter Saleha was among the 14 people killed by a mob in Dahod on March 3, 2002, in communal riots that consumed Guiarat following the death of 59 passengers, mainly ‘Kar Sevaks’, when the Sabarmati Express was set on fire.

    Urging the bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud to list her plea, Advocate Shobha Gupta submitted that the plea should be heard in open court.  Gupta also told the bench that Bilkis has filed a writ petition challenging the release of the 11 convicts who had gangraped and murdered seven members of her family during the 2002 Godhra riots in Gujarat. 

    Considering her submissions, CJI DY Chandrachud said that he would examine the issue of whether both the pleas can be heard together and if it could be heard before the same bench. 

    Bilkis in her review plea, has stated that the appropriate government in this case would not be the State of Gujarat but the State of Maharashtra. The plea also states that remission policy of the state of Maharashtra would govern this case. Gujarat government’s 1992 policy did not prohibit the remission of rape, gang rape or murder convicts. 

    ALSO READ: Bilkis Bano case convict was booked for outraging woman’s modesty while on parole in 2020

    SC’s May 13 verdict had come in case of RadheyShyam, one of the convicts in the case, who had then completed 15 years and 4 months of custody.

    A bench of Justices, Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath, while directing the Gujarat government to consider his plea seeking pre­mature release in terms of its policy dated 9th July, 1992 within a period of two months in their order had said, 

    “In the instant case, once the crime was committed in the State of Gujarat, after the trial has been concluded and judgment of conviction came to be passed, all further proceedings have to be considered including remission or pre­mature release, as the case may be, in terms of the policy which is applicable in the State of Gujarat where the crime was committed and not the State where the trial stands transferred and concluded for exceptional reasons under the orders of this Court.”

    Apart from Bilkis, women’s rights activists including Subhashini Ali have also challenged the release of the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case. 

    ALSO READ | Bilkis Bano case: Convicts released for good behaviour, Gujarat govt to SC

    The plea challenging the remission becomes significant against the backdrop of objections put forth by the Gujarat government as well as the accused that had questioned the locus of the women rights activists challenging their release. 

    The Gujarat government in its 477 page affidavit had told the SC that the state decided to release the 11 convicts on completion of their 14 years sentence as their “behaviour was found to be good” and after approval from the central government.

    It also added that the opinions of the Inspector General of Prisons, Gujarat State, Jail Superintendents, Jail Advisory Committee, District Magistrate, Police Superintendent, CBI, Special Crime Branch, Mumbai and Hon. Sessions Court, Mumbai (CBI) were considered. The state also asserted that third party strangers were precluded from questioning a remission order passed by the State government which is strictly in accordance with law. 

    Bilkis Bano has approached Supreme Court challenging top court’s May 13, 2022 ruling, as per which the bench has asked the Gujarat government to consider pre mature release of the convicts on the basis of 1992 policy. 

    Five-months pregnant Bano was gang-raped and her three-year-old daughter Saleha was among the 14 people killed by a mob in Dahod on March 3, 2002, in communal riots that consumed Guiarat following the death of 59 passengers, mainly ‘Kar Sevaks’, when the Sabarmati Express was set on fire.

    Urging the bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud to list her plea, Advocate Shobha Gupta submitted that the plea should be heard in open court.  Gupta also told the bench that Bilkis has filed a writ petition challenging the release of the 11 convicts who had gangraped and murdered seven members of her family during the 2002 Godhra riots in Gujarat. 

    Considering her submissions, CJI DY Chandrachud said that he would examine the issue of whether both the pleas can be heard together and if it could be heard before the same bench. 

    Bilkis in her review plea, has stated that the appropriate government in this case would not be the State of Gujarat but the State of Maharashtra. The plea also states that remission policy of the state of Maharashtra would govern this case. Gujarat government’s 1992 policy did not prohibit the remission of rape, gang rape or murder convicts. 

    ALSO READ: Bilkis Bano case convict was booked for outraging woman’s modesty while on parole in 2020

    SC’s May 13 verdict had come in case of RadheyShyam, one of the convicts in the case, who had then completed 15 years and 4 months of custody.

    A bench of Justices, Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath, while directing the Gujarat government to consider his plea seeking pre­mature release in terms of its policy dated 9th July, 1992 within a period of two months in their order had said, 

    “In the instant case, once the crime was committed in the State of Gujarat, after the trial has been concluded and judgment of conviction came to be passed, all further proceedings have to be considered including remission or pre­mature release, as the case may be, in terms of the policy which is applicable in the State of Gujarat where the crime was committed and not the State where the trial stands transferred and concluded for exceptional reasons under the orders of this Court.”

    Apart from Bilkis, women’s rights activists including Subhashini Ali have also challenged the release of the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case. 

    ALSO READ | Bilkis Bano case: Convicts released for good behaviour, Gujarat govt to SC

    The plea challenging the remission becomes significant against the backdrop of objections put forth by the Gujarat government as well as the accused that had questioned the locus of the women rights activists challenging their release. 

    The Gujarat government in its 477 page affidavit had told the SC that the state decided to release the 11 convicts on completion of their 14 years sentence as their “behaviour was found to be good” and after approval from the central government.

    It also added that the opinions of the Inspector General of Prisons, Gujarat State, Jail Superintendents, Jail Advisory Committee, District Magistrate, Police Superintendent, CBI, Special Crime Branch, Mumbai and Hon. Sessions Court, Mumbai (CBI) were considered. The state also asserted that third party strangers were precluded from questioning a remission order passed by the State government which is strictly in accordance with law.