'Horrendous decision': Ex-IAS officers write to CJI on Bilkis Bano case

The group contended that it is only the SC that has the prime jurisdiction, and hence the responsibility to rectify this 'horrendously wrong decision'

As many as 134 former civil servants Saturday shot off an open letter to the Chief Justice of India Uday Umesh Lalit, asking him to quash the Gujarat government’s order granting premature release to 11 persons convicted for the murder of 14 persons and gangrape of Bilkis Bano, during 2002 post-Godhra riots in the state.

The seven-page written by the Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG) claimed that the "Gujarat government had committed several errors" by ordering remission of 11 convicts.

The group had pleaded to the CJI and requested him to rectify this horrendously wrong decision.

"Like the overwhelming majority of people in our country, we are aghast at what happened in Gujarat a few days ago, on the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence. The premature release has outraged the nation. We write to you because we are deeply distressed by this decision," they said.

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The group contended that it is only the Supreme Court that has the prime jurisdiction, and hence the responsibility, to rectify this "horrendously wrong decision".

The retired bureaucrats who signed the letter included Harsh Mander, Aruna Roy, T K A Nair, Amitabha Pande, K Sujatha Rao and Wajahat Habibullah.

They said the remission should be rescinded, in view of the glaring deviations from established law, a departure from government policy and propriety, and the chilling impact that this release will have, not just on Bilkis Bano and her family and supporters, but also on the safety of all women in India, especially those who belong to minority and vulnerable communities.

They also pointed out Bilkis has reportedly changed homes some 20 times over these years, because of threats to her life. With the celebrated release of the convicts from jail, the trauma, suffering and vulnerability to harm for Bilkis will be significantly heightened, their letter said.

"It is also shocking that five out of ten members of the Advisory Committee, which sanctioned the early release, belong to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while the remaining are ex-officio members. This raises the important question of the impartiality and independence of the decision, and vitiates both the process and its outcome," the letter said.