The Supreme Court in the Bilkis Bano case - 'Remission, A Sin of Commission'

Bilkis Bano finally finds relief after undergoing one trial after another

Bilkis Bano case- Supreme Court: 'Remission, a sin of commission'

A Sin of Commission

The Supreme Court of India has delivered a tight slap on the state of Gujarat for the remission of the eleven men convicted of the gang-rape of Bilkis Bano. The Bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan also found fault with an earlier Supreme Court order.

The Honourable Justices' View

The Honourable Bench found fault with the remission on account of the following:

1. The State of Gujarat did not have the authority to decide on the remission since the conviction had happened through the High Court of Mumbai and thus the state of Maharashtra ought to have taken the call on remission.

2. The Bench also faulted and earlier bench of the Supreme Court for directing the Gujarat State for remission on the plea of one of the convicts. The current Bench felt that considering the gravity of the crime perpetrated against Bilkis Bano, the earlier bench of the Supreme Court should have nipped the initial plea in the bud. since a remission would clearly be a sin of commission by the state apparatus. Rather than look at the situation of the convicts, the machinery responsible for delivering justice ought to look first at the plight of the victims, especially in heinous crimes like rape and murder.

Any Trouble Ahead?

There is a legal view as expressed in a TV Show by a lawyer that there could be a challenge to this current ruling because the earlier SC ruling had also been by a two member bench. Time will tell whether the powers that be are ready to provoke probity and public displeasure to please eleven men who verily ought to be behind bars.

A Barometric Test For Ram Rajya in Bharat

As the whole country is gearing for the consecration of the much-awaited Ram Mandir at Ayodhya, an important question for leaders to ask themselves ...'Would King Rama have approved of the decision that I am planning to make?' If most of the leaders may answer this question (conscientiously) in the affirmative, most of the times, maybe modern Bharat is well and truly on the path towards Ram Rajya!