The Supreme Court on Friday refused to give convicts in the Bilkis Bano case any further “breathing time” to surrender.
When we passed our direction on January 8 for you to surrender, we gave you two weeks to put your affairs in order,” Justice B.V. Nagarathna, heading a Bench comprising Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, told the convicts’ lawyers.
One of them said he was a 62-year-old bachelor and needed time to settle his affairs. “Well, is that not all the more reason for you to not seek more time?” Justice Nagarathna asked.
The convicts had cited several reasons concerning their health or that of their family members’, the wedding of a son, harvesting season, ailing parents, etc, to seek more time to report back to jail.
“We find no merit in the reasons cited... These reasons do not prevent them (convicts) from complying with our directions of January 8, 2024,” Justice Nagarathna said in the order at the end of a brief hearing during lunch hour.
The Bench of Justices Nagarathna and Bhuyan had, in its judgment on January 8, ordered the convicts to report back to jail. The verdict had concluded that the remission of their life sentence by the Gujarat government in August 2022 was illegal.
Applications from the convicts had started trickling in since Thursday, requesting postponement of their impending surrender. Three of a total 11 convicts in the case -- Govindbhai Nai, Mitesh Chimanlal Bhatt, and Ramesh Rupabhai Chandana -- had mentioned their pleas on Thursday for urgent hearing as the deadline for their surrender would expire on January 20.
Justice Nagarathna had asked the Supreme Court Registry to inform the Chief Justice of India about the convicts’ pleas and seek orders to reconstitute a Bench of herself and Justice Bhuyan on January 19.
The 11 men were serving life sentence for the gangrape of a pregnant Bano, the rape and murder of her family members, including a two-month-old infant during the 2002 riots.
They had served 14 years of their sentence at the time of their premature release by the Gujarat government in August 2022. The 251-page judgment of the top court on January 8 had described the crimes of the men as “grotesque and diabolical crime driven by communal hatred”.
The court had also made scathing remarks about the ruling BJP government in Gujarat for acting “in tandem” with the prisoners to order their early release after “usurping the power” to do so.
The January 8 judgment had thrown light on the role of the Centre which had approved the men’s premature release. “A woman deserves respect howsoever high or low she may be otherwise considered in society or to whatever faith she may follow or any creed she may belong to. Can heinous crimes against women permit remission of the convicts by a reduction in their sentence and by granting them liberty?” Justice Nagarathna had observed in the judgment.
Ayodhya Ram temple consecration | Centre’s half-day holiday is ‘unconstitutional’, says Left; rest of Opposition remains silent
The Union government’s order to close all its offices for half a day on January 22 to “enable employees to participate in the celebrations for Ram Lalla Pran Pratishtha at Ayodhya” is an unconstitutional step, the Left parties said. This robs government employees of “choice” regarding their religious beliefs, and clearly aligns the state to one religion, they added.
Following the Centre’s cue, BJP-ruled States have issued similar orders. Apart from the Left, other Opposition parties are maintaining a studied silence on the issue. Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who is currently leading the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, had said that the Congress could not participate in the January 22 event as it was a purely “BJP-RSS” event. While the other Opposition parties are also staying away from the function at Ayodhya, none have spoken out against the Union government’s order for a half-day holiday.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau said the order was yet another step to directly involve the “government and State” in what should be a “purely religious function.” Its statement added: “Employees have the right to make a personal choice regarding their religious belief and behaviour but it is a gross misuse of power for the government itself to issue such a circular.”
The party reiterated its position that such actions by the government are against the Constitution and also “the Supreme Court guidelines that the State should be without any religious colour”.
Speaking to The Hindu, Communist Party of India general secretary D. Raja said that such an order is a step towards creating a “theocratic State”.
“Our Constitution clearly lays down that the State shall remain neutral to all religions and shouldn’t identify with any religion. This order is in direct contravention of the spirit of the Constitution and will have grave implications,” he said. “The euphoria they seek to create around Ram Temple can not hide the stark realities of high unemployment rate and rising prices of daily essential items,” he added.
Lalu-Tejashwi call on Nitish amid buzz over change of guard in Bihar
Amid the buzz that’s going on over a change of guard in Bihar, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Chief Lalu Prasad and his son Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on January 19 called on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at his official residence. All three held a closed-door meeting for nearly an hour. After the meeting, Tejashwi Yadav dismissed the rift within the party and also denied reports of Kumar going back to the NDA fold.
The buzz started after Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during an interview to a vernacular daily on January 16, said the party will think it over if any proposal comes from those who left NDA. His statement was seen as an offer to Bihar Chief Minister and national president of Janata Dal (United).
However, it was Shah who once announced while addressing a rally in West Champaran in February 2023 that BJP’s door had forever closed for Kumar while calling him Aya Ram Gaya Ram (turncoat).
Asked about the change of guard in Bihar, Yadav said, “You (media) people are free to assume anything, why should I react on your assumptions? He is the Chief Minister, I am the Deputy Chief Minister, we keep meeting each other. Why do you people have any problem with it? I feel pity, the kind of question you all ask us. There is no truth in any change of guard, and I do not need to give clarification every time.”
He further asserted that in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, BJP would be wiped out and Mahagathbandhan will emerge winner winning all the seats. “From day one when Lalu ji and Nitish ji have come under one room, the BJP is in great pain and you people are also becoming the partner of the saffron party,” Yadav said.
He hit back at reporters when asked about the possible date of completing seat-sharing talks in the INDIA bloc. “I want to ask the media people, has seat sharing completed in BJP? On how many seats BJP is contesting election in Bihar? Has seat sharing completed in NDA? Why does the media not have the equal amount of inquisitiveness on seat-sharing in NDA, why only INDIA alliance,” Yadav asked.
He also dismissed the rift within the alliance in Bihar stressing that Mahagathbandhan is united and all partners of the alliance will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha poll under the leadership of Kumar.
The buzz also caught momentum when a party insider said that JD(U) MLAs and Ministers have been instructed to remain in the State capital for next 72 hours.
However, when asked about any such instruction, JD-(U) MLA and Cabinet Minister Madan Sahani categorically rejected the claim. “No such instruction has been given by the party high command,” Sahani told The Hindu.
Meanwhile, opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held a parallel meeting of its legislature party in which preparation for the Lok Sabha election was discussed. When asked about welcoming Kumar again, BJP state president Samrat Choudhary said if he (Yadav) wants to take the membership of BJP, he is most welcome.
On the other hand, patron of Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) (HAM-S) and former Chief Minister Jitan Manjhi posted on his official X handle asking his MLAs to remain in Patna till January 25. “Despite being in Delhi, I am keeping a close eye on the current political situation in Bihar. Keeping the political development in mind, I have instructed all my MLAs to remain in Patna till 25th January. Whatever happens will be in the interest of the State. Jai Bihar,” Manjhi’s post read.
Abandon the idea of One Nation One Election, Kharge tells Ram Nath Kovind-led panel
Rejecting the concept of One Nation One Election, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge told a high-level committee being led by former President Ram Nath Kovind that the proposal to hold simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and all State legislatures goes against the basic structure of the Constitution and cannot exist in a parliamentary system.
In a January 17 letter to the panel’s secretary Niten Chandra, Kharge said that the idea should be abandoned for the sake of a “robust democracy” and urged that the “persona and office of the former President should not be allowed to be abused by the Union Government”.
“It is distressing when even common voters feel the consultations of the committee are likely to be a pretence since minds have already been made up,” he added.
“The Indian National Congress is strongly opposed to the very idea of One Nation, One Election. For the sake of maintaining a thriving and a robust democracy, it is imperative that the entire idea must be abandoned and the High Power Committee dissolved,” Kharge said.
The Congress chief expressed his amusement that the panel was highlighting the Election Commission of India‘s (ECI) statement that simultaneous polls would help save money. “The ECI had estimated the cost of conducting the 2014 Lok Sabha elections with VVPAT machines to be about ₹3,870 crore… In contrast, the ruling party at the Centre has received donations of ₹10,122 crore during 2016-2022, out of which ₹5,271.97 crores is through anonymous Electoral Bonds,” Kharge said, arguing that instead of simultaneous polls, there should be a greater emphasis on the transparency of funding.
The Congress chief outlined a basic problem with the idea of simultaneous polls. “Suppose simultaneous elections are held in 2024, and suppose the Central government is defeated in February 2025 and the Prime Minister calls for fresh elections. Or suppose, on a major policy issue, the PM decides to seek a fresh mandate. Will all the State Assemblies be also dissolved and ‘simultaneous’ elections held throughout the country?” he asked.
Without naming the BJP, Kharge said: “The only instances where the Chief Ministers have lost the confidence of the House have been when one particular party has abused the government machinery at its disposal and subverted the anti-defection law to steal people’s mandate”.
In brief
More than 2,800 jobs will be axed as Tata Steel plans to close its blast furnaces at the Port Talbot plant in South Wales in the U.K. Of the total job cuts, 2,500 will be in the next 18 months, said Indian conglomerate Tata. A further 300 jobs are to go in three years. Statutory consultation on the cuts will begin, Tata Steel said but did not specify when. Voluntary redundancies will be sought and more than 130 million pounds will be committed to a support package for affected employees. The redundancies, to be completed by March next year, will see three-quarters of the 4,000 staff on site put out of work.
Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.
