The court made a charge of abuse of power on the Gujarat Government

It is the duty of this court to correct arbitrary orders: Justice Nagarathna

Plea of protection of liberties of these convicts cannot be accepted by us: Justice Nagrathna

The Supreme Court struck down the remission order passed by the Gujarat Government that resulted in the release of 11 convicts given a life sentence in the heinous gangrape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of her family members during the Gujarat riots in 2002. The court made a charge of abuse of power on the Gujarat Government since the trail was held in Maharashtra. “The exercise of power by the State of Gujarat is an instance of usurpation of power and abuse of power. This is a classic case where the order of this court was used to violate the rule of law by granting remission. On that ground also, the remission orders deserve to be quashed,” Justice Nagarathna stated. 

The Supreme Court order did not accept the argument appealing to the right of liberty of the convicts. “If the convicts can circumvent the consequences of their conviction, the peace and tranquillity in the society will be reduced to a chimaera.  The courts have to be mindful not just to the spelling of justice but also the content of it. It is the duty of this court to correct arbitrary orders at the earliest and to retain the foundation of trust of the public…We cannot forget the conduct of the convicts, particularly, the one who had abused the process of this court. The deprivation of liberty is justified inasmuch as they have been erroneously set at liberty. One cannot overlook the fact that they were in jail for a little over 14 years, with liberal paroles and furloughs. The status quo ante must be restored. Plea of protection of liberties of these convicts cannot be accepted by us. The rule of law must prevail. When the impugned orders are set aside, the consequences must follow,” Justice Nagarathna expressed.