The Governor cited the remission papers signed by him in Kerala as the reason for his remark.
Published Aug 30, 2022 | 8:00 AM ⚊ Updated Aug 30, 2022 | 8:00 AM
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan. (Supplied)
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan defended the release of 11 men who were sentenced to life in prison in the Bilqis Bano case under the Gujarat government’s remission policy.
His remarks came during an interview with the Malayalam news channel Mathrubhumi news.
In the interview, a journalist posed a question to the Governor about a tweet by Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi. The tweet read “Hon Governor of Kerala had once stepped down when injustice in the case of Shahbano was done, rightly so. He talked about it vocally till kingdoms come, then. Today, he is silent on Bilkis Bano. Wonder why. His silence is a let-down. [sic]”
The tweet referred to Khan’s resignation from the Congress in 1986 due to his differences with the Rajiv Gandhi government on passing the Muslim Women (Protection on Divorce) Act. The legislation had overturned the verdict in the Shah Bano case and said the maintenance period could only be a particular time frame.
Khan responded to the question by hinting that the rules were not violated. He said: “I already said if any rule has been bent to give advantage to those who are in the jail [or] if they have not spent the time which according to law an ordinary prisoner must spend in the jail, please let me know. I will decide about that.”
However, he cited remission papers signed by him as the governor of Kerala. “In Kerala, last month I signed these remission papers for somebody who was convicted of death. Whose tragedy is less horrible? I am asking you, is it less horrible? Be you ever so high, the law is above you, then we are Indians,” he said.
Khan also cited a quote often attributed to Mahatma Gandhi: Hate the crime and not the criminal.
He asked: “All religious scriptures ask you to visit people who are imprisoned, why? Once you lose your freedom, you also have time to review your actions. Should we as a civilised society need not give them another chance to reform?”
He also said: “The Constitution ensures equality before the law and equal protection of the law. Now, it cannot happen that some prisoners who meet all these requirements will be released and others who meet the same requirements will not be released.”
On 15 August, when India celebrated its 76th Independence Day, 11 men who were sentenced to life imprisonment for the gang rape of Bilkis Bano and murdering several members of her family during the 2002 Gujarat riots were released from the Godhra sub-jail.
In January 2008, a special CBI court sentenced these 11 men — Radheshyam Shah, Jaswant Chaturbhai Nai, Keshubhai Vadaniya, Bakabhai Vadaniya, Rajibhai Soni, Rameshbhai Chauhan, Shaileshbhai Bhatt, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Govindbhai Nai, Mitesh Bhatt, and Pradip Modhiya — on the charges of gang rape and murder.
