Ex-bureaucrats write to CJI: SC should rectify this ‘horrendously wrong decision’

The former civil servants, who have come together to form the Constitutional Conduct Group, wrote: “The premature release, by the Government of Gujarat, of 11 men convicted and jailed in the ghastly case of gang rape of the young and pregnant Bilkis Bano and two others and the murder of her family members…has outraged the nation. 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 group comprises former Union Secretaries, DGPs, ambassadors, Chief Secretaries, and judges.

Among the retired top officers are former Home Secretary G K Pillai, former Foreign Secretary and NSA Shivshankar Menon, former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, former Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar, former External Affairs Secretary and former High Commissioner to the UK Nareshwar Dayal, former Chief Economic Adviser Nitin Desai, former OSD to PMO on Kashmir A S Daulat, former Delhi L-G Najeeb Jung, former Finance Secretary Sunil Mitra, former secretary-generals of National Human Rights Commission Satya Narayan Mohanty and P S S. Thomas, former adviser to the PM T K A. Nair, former secretary of Inter-State Council Amitabha Pande, former Health Secretary K Sujatha Rao, and former Lalit Kala Akademi chairman Ashok Vajpeyi.

After 15 years in jail, one of the accused, Radheshyam Shah, moved the Supreme Court with a plea for remission.

The letter stated: “The Gujarat High Court, which had earlier been approached for this purpose, had dismissed his plea while observing that the “appropriate government” to decide the case was that of Maharashtra and not Gujarat…. It is also shocking that five out of ten members of the Advisory Committee, which sanctioned the early release, belong to the Bharatiya Janata Party, while the remaining are ex-officio members. This raises the important question of the impartiality and independence of the decision, and vitiates both the process and its outcome.”

The letter stated, “In view of these glaring deviations from established law, departure from government policy and propriety, and the chilling impact that this release will have, not just on Bilkis Bano and her family and supporters, but also on safety of all women in India, especially those who belong to minority and vulnerable communities, we urge you to rescind the order of remission passed by Gujarat government and send the 11 persons convicted of gang rape and murder back to jail to serve out their life sentence.”

Pillai told The Sunday Express: “There has been widespread shock with the remission, especially since Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of women’s empowerment in his Independence Day speech. Not only were the convicts released that day but they were greeted and garlanded at an event organised for them.”

He said, “While Supreme Court has since taken cognizance of the issue, we are concerned at this travesty of justice.”

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Habibullah said: “There has been widespread indignation among us, who have been in service of the government – for this to have happened on Independence Day. You release those who have been convicted of rape and murder — not accused, but convicted…is that a way to celebrate India’s freedom? And the Prime Minister speaking of protection of women…what does this remission show of the position of women in India?”

Pillai said, “There are two issues of legality as well which needs to be discussed — the first is that the case of remission should have been sent to the Maharashtra government, as the case was heard in Maharshtra and not Gujarat…. Second, the order was based on 1992 remission rules, whereas the current remission rules should have held.”