THE HINDU EDITORIAL

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Unlawful remission: On the Bilkis Bano case

The Supreme Court ruling is a searing indictment of Gujarat for aiding convicts’ release

The ruling represents a blow for the rule of law and the restoration of faith in the judiciary at a time when there are doubts about the institution’s capacity to hold power to account. On merits, it is a timely reiteration of the core principles that animate exercise of the power to grant remission — that it should be fair and reasonable and based on a set of relevant parameters such as whether the crime involved affected society at large, whether the convict retained the potential for committing similar offences or is capable of reform. The release of life convicts, who are generally expected to spend the entirety of their lives in prison, unless remission is granted after a prison term that should not be less than 14 years, ought to be individually considered and not part of any omnibus gesture without regard to the impact of their freedom on the victims, survivors and society. Any rational remission policy should encompass humanitarian considerations and the convicts’ scope for reform without violating the rule of law or societal interests. In this case, none of the conditions for remission was met.