134 former civil servants write open letter to CJI towards the discharge of Bilkis Bano case convicts

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: 134 former bureaucrats below the aegis of the Constitutional Conduct Group on Saturday have written an open letter to the newly appointed CJI UU Lalit urging him to rectify the Gujarat Government’s determination of releasing Bilkis Bano convicts. 

“We write to you because we are deeply distressed by this decision of the Government of Gujarat and because we believe that it is only the Supreme Court which has the prime jurisdiction, and hence the responsibility, to rectify this horrendously wrong decision,” the open letter states.

Terming the choice as “horrendously wrong” bureaucrats have beseeched to direct sending the 11 convicts again to jail to serve out their life sentence. 

“Like the overwhelming majority of people in our country, we are aghast at what happened in Gujarat a few days ago, on the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence,” learn the letter.

Former bureaucrats within the letter have additionally acknowledged that they have been “puzzled” about why SC in its May 13 order noticed the matter as pressing and requested the State of Gujarat to resolve the applying of one of many convicts searching for early launch inside two months. 

ALSO READ | Bilkis Bano case: Murmurs of disapproval inside BJP ranks as Fadnavis, Khushbu rap remission of convicts

“We are puzzled about why the Supreme Court saw the matter as so urgent that a decision had to be taken within two months, as also by the Supreme Court ordering that the case should be examined as per Gujarat’s 1992 remission policy and not its current one,” the letter states. 

It has additional been acknowledged within the letter that it was stunning that 5 of the ten members of the State Government’s Jail Advisory Committee that allowed remission plea belonged to the BJP. 

“In a case like this where the victim, her family and witnesses braved death threats and threats of physical harm in fighting the case and shifted residence repeatedly for safety, it was obligatory for the Gujarat government to ascertain how such a release would impact their lives. This was not done even though the victim and her supporters have often stated that they were threatened with violence by the convicts (who were liberally granted parole while in jail) as well as by the families and friends of the convicts,” letter additionally states. 

ALSO READ | Bilkis Bano case: SC discover to Centre, Gujarat on plea towards remission to 11 convicts

Interestingly, round 6,000 eminent residents had additionally written a letter to the SC towards the remission and had urged the SC to “undo the grave miscarriage of justice.” 

The Supreme Court is already seized of the matter. In a PIL by activists Subhashini Ali, journalist Roopvati Lalu and professor Roop Rekha Verma, bench of ex CJI NV Ramana, Justices Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath on August 25 sought Centre and Gujarat Government’s response. Court additionally directed to implead 11 convicts and posted the matter to be heard after two weeks. 

NEW DELHI: 134 former bureaucrats below the aegis of the Constitutional Conduct Group on Saturday have written an open letter to the newly appointed CJI UU Lalit urging him to rectify the Gujarat Government’s determination of releasing Bilkis Bano convicts. 

“We write to you because we are deeply distressed by this decision of the Government of Gujarat and because we believe that it is only the Supreme Court which has the prime jurisdiction, and hence the responsibility, to rectify this horrendously wrong decision,” the open letter states.

Terming the choice as “horrendously wrong” bureaucrats have beseeched to direct sending the 11 convicts again to jail to serve out their life sentence. 

“Like the overwhelming majority of people in our country, we are aghast at what happened in Gujarat a few days ago, on the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence,” learn the letter.

Former bureaucrats within the letter have additionally acknowledged that they have been “puzzled” about why SC in its May 13 order noticed the matter as pressing and requested the State of Gujarat to resolve the applying of one of many convicts searching for early launch inside two months. 

ALSO READ | Bilkis Bano case: Murmurs of disapproval inside BJP ranks as Fadnavis, Khushbu rap remission of convicts

“We are puzzled about why the Supreme Court saw the matter as so urgent that a decision had to be taken within two months, as also by the Supreme Court ordering that the case should be examined as per Gujarat’s 1992 remission policy and not its current one,” the letter states. 

It has additional been acknowledged within the letter that it was stunning that 5 of the ten members of the State Government’s Jail Advisory Committee that allowed remission plea belonged to the BJP. 

“In a case like this where the victim, her family and witnesses braved death threats and threats of physical harm in fighting the case and shifted residence repeatedly for safety, it was obligatory for the Gujarat government to ascertain how such a release would impact their lives. This was not done even though the victim and her supporters have often stated that they were threatened with violence by the convicts (who were liberally granted parole while in jail) as well as by the families and friends of the convicts,” letter additionally states. 

ALSO READ | Bilkis Bano case: SC discover to Centre, Gujarat on plea towards remission to 11 convicts

Interestingly, round 6,000 eminent residents had additionally written a letter to the SC towards the remission and had urged the SC to “undo the grave miscarriage of justice.” 

The Supreme Court is already seized of the matter. In a PIL by activists Subhashini Ali, journalist Roopvati Lalu and professor Roop Rekha Verma, bench of ex CJI NV Ramana, Justices Ajay Rastogi and Vikram Nath on August 25 sought Centre and Gujarat Government’s response. Court additionally directed to implead 11 convicts and posted the matter to be heard after two weeks.