Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis speaks to the media during the Monsoon session of Maharashtra Assembly in Mumbai, Aug. 18, 2022. (PTI)Speaking in the state Legislative Council on Tuesday, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said it was wrong to honour the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case who were recently released from prison.
The matter was raised by the Opposition during the hour-long discussion in the House on the issue of women’s safety in the light of several instances of sexual misconduct, including the recent rape of a girl in the state’s Bhandara by two men over three days.
While replying to queries that ranged from the sensitisation of the police to the Shakti Bill being brought at the earliest, Fadnavis said, “One of the members raised the Bilkis Bano case… There was no need to raise it here… The convicts served their sentence and were released as per Supreme Court order. However, be it any accused, honouring them on their release is wrong. A convict is a convict and they cannot be honoured.”
A total of 11 convicts, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in Mumbai in 2008 in connection with the gang rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of her family members in 2002, were recently released from jail after a Gujarat government panel approved their application for remission of sentence.