Hyderabad: TRS MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha penned a letter to Chief Justice of India NV Ramana on Friday, imploring the Supreme Court to intervene in the matter of the release of the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano rape case.
In her appeal to the Chief Justice, Kavitha wrote, “Crimes such as rape shake the very core of our social conscience and seeing convicted rapists walk out freely on a day such as our Independence Day sends shivers down the spine of every woman and indeed every citizen who places their faith in the laws of the land and the justice system of our country.”
She highlighted relevant technical and legal points and pointed out that “this case was investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). It was the Special CBI Court that sentenced these convicts. Section 435 (1) (a) of the Criminal Procedure Code states that the power of the state government to remit or commute a sentence in any case which was investigated by the CBI shall not be exercised by the state government, except after consultation with the central government.”
Kavitha questioned and remarked that “whether the release of the 11 convicts, in this case, was done in consultation with the Central Government is unclear.”
She pointed out that “it has to be taken into consideration that the 1992 policy was substituted by the 2014 policy to align the remission policy of the state government with the judgement of the Supreme Court dated 20/11/2012 in criminal appeal no. 490-491 of 2011, where the Supreme Court observed that the remission powers of the appropriate government should not be exercised arbitrarily and should be exercised with some inherent procedural and substantive checks on the said power.”
She concluded the letter to the CJI by saying, “Bilkis Bano was 21 years old and 5 months pregnant at the time when this heinous crime took place and to imagine her seeing her rapists walking free with impunity, then being garlanded and celebrated for release must have shattered her.”
“I implore the Honourable Supreme Court of India to save the nation’s faith in our laws and in humanity by intervening in this matter so that the decision of the release of the aforementioned convicts is withdrawn immediately,” she said.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Shreya Srikonda | 
