Author: Aryaa Pandey, Law Center 1, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi
We witness many cases of crime against women ever year. Mostly of them make the landmark judgements. Here also we will talk about one of the case of gang rape which concluded with the landmark judgement. The infamous case is Bilkis Yakub Rasul vs Union of India and others. The case is all about the gand rape of woman from the minority community.
The case was all about the crimes and atrocities against the women during the communal clashes. Women are mostly the object of harshness during the times of communal tensions.
Let’s move to the root cause of the tragedy. Why the hatred was brought into this height where the mass sufferrings were inflicted upon the common people? It all started from the Godhra train incident which paved the way for the future turmoil.
Godhra Train Incident – In February 2002 many devotees from Gujarat visited Ayodhya for the ceremony organised by Vishwa Hindu Parishad. After attending the event , number of pilgrims and kar sewaks ( devotees of Ram) were returning from Ayodhya to Gujarat in Sabarmati Express. On 27 February 2002, in morning the train was running four hours late. It reached at Godhra station with the delay of four hours and took a stoppage for scheduled time. The train prepared to leave the plateform on time and scheduled for the Ahemdabad Junction. The train started moving ahead but it was stopped by pulling the emergency brake chain multiple times. Train stopped near the signal point ahead of some distance from the plateform. Mob of nearly two thousand people attacked the train and pelted the stones after which four coaches of the train were set on fire. The connected coaches also caught the fire. Near about sixty people got killed and nearly fifty injured badly in the incident. There was a mystery regarding the fire break out. Many enquiries were set out to find the cause of the fire . Gujarat police stated that culprits have had themselves kept the petrol dipped rags in the train. Nanavati – Mehta committee found in its report that it was the planned conspiracy. Still the cause of the fire remains in great conundrum. Many bodies have claimed that the fire outbreak was a mere accident and no planning was there before the incident. But all the claims and statements are clueless without any base proof.
Post Godhra Riots- It’s the infamous Gujarat Riots , 2002. Also known as the Gujarat pogrom , it was a three day communal riot in the different parts of the state of Gujarat. The burning of train and attacking on the pilgrims instigated the violence among the common people. The cruelty on the pilgrims by the mob and deaths of the passengers incited the communal feelings of the common people and the hatred kept growing. The outbreak of violence was targeted against the muslim minority population of the state.
Thousands were dead , many went missing and others were injured. Above two thousand deaths were cited as per some sources. Murders and gang rapes were common in that turmoil. Also some sources blame the then chief minister of the state for condoning the violence in the state.
Moreover some govt. officials also directed the mob to destroy the properties of minorities by giving the list of their assets. Many scholars and thinkers have condemned it and labelled it as a genocide and ethnic cleansing. It thrown the devastating effect on the lives of people.
Aftermath – Following the attack on the train, Vishwa Hindu Parishad declared the full strike or bandh in the state. Apex court have rendered such strikes as illegal but still govt didn’t attempt to stop the strike. It failed to control the initial outbreak of violence. Some inciting dialogues and statements were used to bolster the brutality.
Some local newspapers also bolstered the sentiments of people by printing the exaggerated news. Some fake statements were also used. The full fledged attack was targeted in the end of February and the business and property details were provided to the commoners to misuse them for devastating the conditions of minorities. The assets were burned and destroyed rendering many of them homeless . Even police also failed to protect them and stopping the atrocities.
Finally curfew had been imposed in most parts of the state. Approximately five hundred mosques and dargahs were destroyed and some policemen also died while serving to their duties.
Hostilities on Muslims – Brutalities were not only targeted to the men but also to the women. Most of them left their home and headed towards the relief camps for the safer side. Ab international forum founded that the sexual brutality was the main weapon used for petrifying the women. Many girls and women were gang raped and then charred to death. Children were scorched after throwing petrol on them. Families were electrocuted and women were striped off naked .
Acid attack and beatings were too included. Toddlers and infants were thrown into the fire. Mutilation, slitting the stomach, cutting the breasts were also the part of the brutality.
Attacks on Hindus- Over ten thousand Hindus were displaced in the violence as after the Godhra incident some riots were started by muslims too. They burnt the colonies and homes of hindus. In some areas Dalits were made the Target and there were also atrocities on the Hindu doctors . Some hindus died due to police action.
INFAMOUS CASE OF BILKIS BANO
Bilkis Yakub Rasul vs Union of India & Ors
Facts – During the post godhra riots a young woman named Bilkis Bano was forced to leave her village Randhikpur along with her family and other society members. She was accompanied by her husband, her three year old daughter, her in laws family and other villagers. They took shelter in the district of Chhaparvad . Bilkis was twenty one years old only. She was five months pregnant at that time. No matter how , they were attacked by the group of around thirty people who were accompanied with their sharp weapons. The miscreants targeted the group ruthlessly and killed her seven family members including her three years old daughter unmercifully. Bilkis herself was exposed to the terrific and horrendous experience where eleven men from the group gang raped her and her mother and the other women. Despite all this terrible experience she survived the brutality and stood for the justice. Her matter gained national and international importance and the need was highlighted for the accountability and justice for the women subjected to the crimes during communal clashes.
Proceedings – Police also dismissed the case against the convicts of the rape and murder. Bilkis approached the National Human Rights Commission and also to the supreme court of India. Apex court ordered the CBI to investigate the matter. CBI formulated the team of experts to investigate the matter . The team located the graves of the victims and identified the cause of death. The trial of the case was transferred to the maharashtra and the charges were filed in the mumbai court against the miscreants and the police officials. Eleven men were sentenced with the life imprisonment for the rapes and murders. A policeman was also convicted for tampering with the evidence. In May 2017 , the Bombay High court upheld the decision of the mumbai court of life imprisonment of the convicts. The court set aside the acquittal of the other convicts and police official.
Compensation – the supreme court ordered the Gujarat govt to pay her the compensation of fifty lakhs and housing facility and a govt job.
Remission – One convict named Radheshyam, approached the apex court in March 2022 for seeking the remission under the claims of his state policy of remission of 1992 which states for the provision of the remission in some cases of the particular individual as per the eligibility. All the eleven men were released from the jail of godhra on the grant of remission. They released on fifteenth of august, 2022. The judge who sentenced them for life prisonment was highly disappointed with the bad precedent set by gujarat government. It was found out that the panel which granted them the remission was consisted of the members of the then ruling party which ruled during the post godhra riots. Also the prisoners were treated with warm welcome and sweets were distributed. They were stated as having good values ‘sanskar’ because they were brahmins. On their release, Bilkis Bano , who was in grief , stated that the verdict has breached her trust and faith in the justice process.
Supreme court’s final verdict – after the three days of the release,on eighteenth of august, 2022 , several social activists, writers, filmmakers , journalists, and the ex – bureaucrats requested the court to reverse it’s earlier judgement on the earlier release of the rapists. The supreme court bench including the chief justice N.V. Ramana proposed a query on the state’s policy of remission and possibility of legal bar on it.
On eighth january, 2024 , the court held that the grant of remission by the state of Gujarat was not valid as the remission can only be granted by that state where the trial case was held. In this case the trial was shifted to Maharashtra. The court annulled the earlier remission which was granted in August, 2022 and directed the convicts to submit before the jail administration.Nonetheless, it was the victory day for the victim !
Conclusion
The fight for the justice which started at the early 2000s got resolved after the two decades. The fight was not a cake walk for the victim woman. It was the challenging roller coaster ride for Bilkis Bano. She lost her everything. Here everything means everything for whatever a woman is meant for. Her Husband, daughter, inborn child , family , society respect and dignity, everything was compromised at the behest of the so called justice. However justice was served to her but at the cost of her courage, faith, boldness and relationships. The judicial system in our country is a well equipped system with the provision of separation of power in the constitution. But inspite of this empowered judiciary, a woman waited for nearly two decades. The earlier release of the convicts was a setback for fair process. We can proudly remember this case as the best precedent for any unfairness but simultaneously there is a need to reform the whole legal process where no criminal can take the advantage of the pardoning provisions.
FAQS
What is the remission process
-It is the process of decreasing or lessening of the sentence or the punishment in terms of quantity.
What is the trial case in legal terms
-It is the prior formal examination of the facts of the case to determine the validity of the charges and claims.
What is Nanavati-Mehta committee and why it was formed?
-The committee was formed by the Gujarat govt to investigate the incident of the Godhra train burning in February, 2002.
References
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godhra_train_burning
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Gujarat_riots
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilkis_Bano_case
