Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra moved the Supreme Court of India on Tuesday challenging the BJP-led Gujarat government’s decision to release the 11 convicts guilty of gang raping Bano and mass murdering 15 members of her family in the 2002 Gujarat riots case.
Moitra filed a PIL (public interest litigation) through advocate Shadan Farasat raising concerns over the safety of Bilkis Bano and her family.
According to Live Law, the PIL states, “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 CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure).”
Moitra mentions in her PIL that since Bilkis’s case was investigated by CBI, a central government agency, the Gujarat government’s decision to grant any sort of verdict such as remission or premature release is nullified.
The TMC leader urged the Central government to frame guidelines with concerns regarding the remission policy in order to avoid further misuse of power.
