The 11 prisoners had served their full 14 years in prison, the Gujarati government informed the Supreme Court on Monday. Mahua Moitra, a Trinamool MP, said that each of them received ‘ridiculously high’ parole of 4 years, reducing their total sentence to merely 10 years.
After the Gujarat government explained to the Supreme Court how the decision was made, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, one of the petitioners before the Supreme Court challenging the release of the 11 rapists of Bilkis Bano, added three points to the chorus of protest. According to the Gujarat government, the 11 convicts’ parole was proposed in July of this year and rejected by the CBI, the superintendent of police for Mumbai’s Special Crime Branch, and the Special Civil Judge (CBI), City Civil and Sessions Court, Greater Bombay.
Mahua Moitra condemned how the Centre granted its approval when the CBI and the CBI special judge said “NO,” saying that Indians can witness for the first time how and who permitted 11 rapists and murders to walk free prematurely. Mahua Moitra tweeted in response to the Gujarat government’s assertion in the Supreme Court that the petitioners contesting the remission are nothing more than an invader and a busybody, “Don’t need any locus standi to tell right from wrong,”
Over the course of the process, the MP asked three queries: 1. Why did the CBI and the courts’ rejection go unnoticed by the Center and Gujarat? 2. As opposed to handling each case individually, why did the Center approve all 11 of the remissions in bulk? 3. Why did each convict receive a “ridiculously high” four-year parole period? The Trinamool MP noted that they spent barely 10 years in prison on average.
The Gujarati government informed the Supreme Court on Monday that the prisoners had been released because they had served a total of 14 years in prison and had demonstrated good behaviour. It claimed to have proper orders from the home ministry supporting the granting of the remission.
Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders attacked the Narendra Modi administration after the disclosure, calling it a stain on the administration’s record. Rahul Gandhi tweeted, “Talk of respect for women from the Red Fort ramparts but in fact backing for ‘rapists’.” On November 29, the Supreme Court will hear appeals challenging the release of the 11 rapists.
