Public outcry will not affect our judicial decisions, says SC on remission to Bilkis case convicts
New Delhi (PTI): "Public outcry will not affect our judicial decisions," the Supreme Court asserted on Tuesday, as it began weighing the legality of the remission granted to all the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case and murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan made it clear that agitations and society's outcry will not have an effect on its decisions and that it will go only by the law.
"Public outcry will not affect our judicial decisions. We will consider only legal submissions and will not go by this (public anger over the incident). Suppose, there is no public outcry. Are we supposed to uphold the order? If there is a public outcry, does it mean it is a wrong order?" the bench told advocate Shobha Gupta, appearing for Bilkis Bano.
The observation came after Gupta submitted that "public outcry" is one of the important factors to be considered while granting remission to convicts.
She said there was an outcry in society after the convicts in the case were released and there were agitations across the country.
As the hearing began on Tuesday, Bilkis Bano's counsel told the apex court the Additional Director General of Police, Prisons and Correctional Administration, Gujarat had tendered a negative opinion about remission to the convicts and not recommended premature release of one of them-Radheshyam Shah.
She told the bench that after Radheshyam Shah's plea seeking premature release under the Gujarat government's July 9, 1992 policy on remission was declined by the Gujarat High Court, he approached the apex court in a writ petition for relief.
"How is this writ petition before this court maintainable after he has already availed remedy under Article 226 (before HC), accepted order and acted on it? For what purpose did he come to this court, and how did this court entertain the petition?" he bench asked.
Article 226 gives high courts the power to issue instructions, orders, and writs to any person or authority, including the government.
Radheysham Shah had moved to the Supreme Court seeking remission on the ground that he had completed 15 years and 4 months in jail. He was sent to life imprisonment by a CBI court in Mumbai in 2008. In accordance with the rules then in force, a convict could apply for remission after 14 years, which was then considered the period of life imprisonment.
Hearing Shah's petition, the apex court had asked the Gujarat government to look into the matter and decide within two months whether he could be granted remission.
Bilkis Bano's counsel Gupta submitted that after the apex court order directing the Gujarat government to consider his plea, everything got expedited and all the convicts got released on August 15, 2022.
Senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing in one of the PILs, recalled how the convicts were garlanded and felicitated and statements were made about their being Brahmins who cannot commit crime.
Additional Solicitor General S V Raju said those who garlanded the released convicts were their family members. "What is wrong in garlanding by a family member?" he asked.
At the fag end of the hearing on Tuesday, the top court said it will hear arguments on August 9 on the locus standi of multiple people who have filed PILs in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case.
Besides the petition filed by Bilkis Bano, 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. Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra has also filed a PIL against the remission.
Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for one of the convicts, told the bench that once the victim individual is in court, others may not have a locus standi (entitlement to bring a lawsuit in court) to intervene in the matter of this nature.
The convicts in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case and murder of seven of her family members during the 2002 Gujarat riots chased her with a "blood thirsty approach" to hunt Muslims and kill them, the apex court was told on Monday, as it commenced the final hearing on a batch of pleas challenging the remission granted last year to all the 11 convicts in the case.
The top court had on April 18 questioned the Gujarat government over the remission granted to the 11 convicts, saying the gravity of the offence should have been considered before showing leniency, and wondered if there was any application of mind. All of them had walked free on August 15, 2022.
Asking for reasons for the premature release of the convicts, the top court had also questioned frequent parole granted to them during their incarceration.
"It (remission) is a kind of grace, which should be proportional to the crime," it had said.
Terming Bilkis Bano's gang-rape and the murder of her family members a "horrendous" act, the apex court had on March 27 asked the Gujarat government whether uniform standards, as followed in other murder cases, were applied while granting remission to the convicts.
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.
The 11 convicts granted premature release are Jaswantbhai Nai, Govindbhai Nai, Shailesh Bhatt, Radheshyam Shah, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Pradeep Mordhiya, Bakabhai Vohania, Rajubhai Soni, Mitesh Bhatt, and Ramesh Chandana.
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Kerala polls: ‘People rejected 10 years of misrule’, says AICC gen secy
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal on Monday said the Congress-led UDF’s sweeping victory in the Kerala Assembly polls was a clear verdict against the “arrogance”, corruption, and nepotism of the CPI(M)-led LDF government headed by CM Pinarayi Vijayan.
Addressing a press conference as counting of votes for all 140 Assembly constituencies neared completion, Venugopal said the outcome reflected public anger against what he termed “10 years of misrule” by the Left government.
He claimed that Vijayan’s victory in his home constituency, Dharmadam, was “only technical”, alleging that the CM trailed the UDF candidate in the initial rounds of counting and failed to secure a majority in his own village.
“He just escaped. He suffered a setback even in his home turf. He was the only person who did not realise the people’s mood in this election,” Venugopal said.
Alleging that the CPI(M) and the LDF had resorted to “communal and opportunistic politics”, he further claimed that the ruling front had entered into a “secret understanding” with the BJP in a bid to retain power for a third consecutive term.
He said that when a government driven by power and arrogance attempts to align with anyone to stay in office, even its own cadre turns against it.
Referring to the results, Venugopal said that while the UDF expected rebel CPI(M) leaders, including K Kunhikrishnan in Payyannur, to impact the vote share, their victories came as a surprise.
Describing the UDF’s performance as a “historic victory”, he attributed it to coordinated teamwork, grassroots mobilisation, and the dedication of party workers, adding that the alliance accepted the mandate “with humility”.
Venugopal also credited Rahul Gandhi’s campaign guarantees, calling them a “trump card” that helped voters focus on real issues and reject what he described as the LDF’s “false narratives”.
He claimed that the Congress witnessed one of its lowest levels of rebellion in this election, which contributed to the alliance’s strong performance.
The senior Congress leader further alleged that the BJP managed to win two seats with the help of the CPI(M), and asserted that forces attempting to divide society on communal lines should “learn a lesson” from Kerala’s verdict.
“This is the real Kerala story,” he said.
On the question of the next Chief Minister, Venugopal said the party leadership would decide at the earliest after due consultations.
The counting of votes began on Monday morning for all 140 Assembly constituencies in Kerala, where the Congress-led UDF secured a decisive majority, defeating the CPI(M)-led LDF, which was seeking an unprecedented third consecutive term in office.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) posts, "Thank you to my brothers and sisters in Keralam for a truly decisive mandate. Congratulations to every UDF leader and worker for a hard-fought, well-run campaign. As I said before, Keralam has the talent, Keralam has the potential… pic.twitter.com/6T4IZbEmp4
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 4, 2026
