State govt should not be selective in remission, opportunity to reform be given to every prisoner:SC
Bilkis Bano case
New Delhi, Aug 17: State governments should not be selective in granting remission to convicts and the opportunity to reform and reintegrate with society should be given to every prisoner, the Supreme Court Thursday told the Gujarat government which defended its decision of premature release of all 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case during the 2002 riots.
The top court's observation came in response to the submission by Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the Gujarat government, that law says a chance must be given to even the hardened criminals to reform themselves.
The law officer submitted the crime committed by the 11 convicts was "heinous" but does not fall in the rarest of rare category.
"Therefore, they deserve the chance of reformation. Person may have committed the offence...Something may have gone wrong in a particular moment. Later, he can always realise the consequences.
"This can largely be determined from their conduct in jail, when released on parole, or furlough. All these show they have realised what they had done is wrong. Law is not that everyone should be punished perpetually. Chance should be given for reformation," Raju said.
Responding to the submission, a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan wanted to know how far the law is being applied to other inmates in jail.
"Why are our jails overcrowded? Why is the the policy of remission being applied selectively?
"Opportunity to reform and reintegrate must be given to every prisoner not only to few prisoners. But how far is remission policy being implemented where the convicts have completed 14 years? Is it being applied in all cases?" the bench asked Raju.
The ASG replied that all states will have to answer this question and that the remission policy varies from state to state.
Commenting on the remission policy of states, the bench said the question is whether the policy of premature release is being implemented uniformly in all cases in respect of all those who have completed 14 years and are eligible for it.
"On the other hand, we have cases like Rudul Shah. Even though there was an acquittal, he continued to remain in prison. Extreme cases, both this side and that side," the bench said.
Rudul Shah was arrested for his wife's murder in 1953 and was in jail for many years, in spite of his acquittal by a sessions court in June 3, 1968. He was finally released in 1982.
The ASG submitted the opinion given by the CBI on remission of the sentence of the 11 convicts shows there was no application of mind.
The CBI had said the offence committed was "heinous, grave and serious" and hence the convicts "cannot be released prematurely and no leniency may be given" to them.
Raju said,"They just narrate facts. Except for stating the offence was heinous, nothing is mentioned. Officer sitting in Mumbai has no knowledge of ground reality. Opinion of local police superintendent more useful than that of CBI officer in this case.
"CBI's opinion has no application of mind. They have repeated the facts and said it's a heinous crime. What is the purpose of remission? Does committing a heinous crime debar you from getting its (remission's) benefit?" Raju said.
The hearing in the case will resume on August 24.
At the earlier hearing, TMC MP Mahua Moitra had told the apex court that the gang-rape of Bilkis Bano and murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots were a "crime against humanity", and accused the Gujarat government of having failed to exercise its constitutional mandate of protecting the rights of women and children by granting remission to the 11 convicts in the "horrendous" case.
Besides the petition filed by Bilkis Bano contesting the remission granted to them, several other PILs including one by CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali, independent journalist Revati Laul and former vice-chancellor of Lucknow University Roop Rekha Verma have challenged the remission. Moitra has also filed a PIL against the remission.
Bilkis Bano was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was gang-raped while fleeing the horror of the communal riots that broke out after the Godhra train-burning incident. Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members killed in the riots.
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Rupee hits record low of 96.14/USD, settles at fresh closing low of 95.86/USD
Mumbai (PTI): The Indian rupee crashed below the 96/USD mark on Friday before closing at an all-time low of 95.86 (provisional) against the US dollar as elevated crude oil prices and inflation concerns added to the downside pressure on the rupee.
Rupee has registered over 6 per cent losses so far this year, and in the past six trading sessions, it has depreciated nearly 2 per cent as Iran war risk escalation pushed crude oil prices higher. The dollar index moved northwards after strong US retail sales and stable labour market data reduced expectations of aggressive Federal Reserve rate cuts.
Forex traders said global uncertainties, relatively high valuations, and the lack of AI-led investment opportunities have weighed on capital flows.
Moreover, weak net FDI inflows are likely to exert pressure on the balance of payments, while rising crude oil prices stoke inflation worries.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 95.86, then slumped to a record low of 96.14 in intraday trade, registering a fall of 50 paise from its previous close.
The USD/INR pair finally settled at 95.86 (provisional) against the US dollar, registering a fall of 22 paise from its previous close, helped by likely RBI intervention.
On Thursday, the rupee weakened to a fresh record low of 95.96 before closing with a marginal gain of 2 paise at 95.64 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading at 99.15, higher by 0.34 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading up 3.14 per cent at USD 109.04 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex fell 160.73 points to settle at 75,237.99, while Nifty declined 46.10 points to 23,643.50.
Foreign Institutional Investors turned net buyers, purchasing equities worth Rs 187.46 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, the country's exports in April rose by 13.78 per cent to USD 43.56 billion despite global challenges, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Friday.
Imports grew 10 per cent year-on-year to USD 71.94 billion in April. The trade deficit during the month stood at USD 28.38 billion.
"We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on elevated crude oil prices and inflation concerns. Strong dollar and FII outflows may also weigh on the rupee. However, any intervention by the RBI and hiking of import duty on gold and silver may support the rupee at lower levels. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 95.60 to 96.20," said Anuj Choudhary, Research analyst at Mirae Asset ShareKhan.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump on Friday hailed their talks as "historic" and "landmark", as the American leader wrapped up his three-day visit on a high note, but no deals on any contentious issues were announced.
Both Presidents, who held several rounds of talks covering a range of global issues, including the Iran war and bilateral trade frictions, concluded their discussions with a private meeting at Zhongnanhai, the well-guarded compound in Beijing where top leaders reside.
