Editorial: Remission most foul

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court agreed to hear on May 8 a petition submitted by slain IAS officer G Krishnaiah’s widow that challenged a recent decision of the Bihar government to release life convict and former MP Anand Mohan. T Umadevi Krishnaiah has stated that Mohan is ineligible for remission as his death sentence was commuted to life term by constitutional courts. An apex court bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala has agreed to hear the writ petition filed by the deceased government official’s kin.

It might be recalled that Mohan, a politician with criminal antecedents was released, under the aegis of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, after serving 15 years in jail for the murder of the said IAS officer, who was then the District Magistrate of Gopalganj. The petitioner argued that the convict is a politically influential person involved in the killing of a serving IAS officer in December 1994, while he himself occupied the post of an MLA. Krishnaiah’s killing was seen as an act of vendetta in retaliation to an encounter

The Bihar government’s decision to grant Mohan remission has come under fire from various quarters owing to the manner in which the release was facilitated. Political analysts have pointed out that Mohan’s release was secured not because of factors like old age, good conduct, medical indisposition or him having served an extended duration in prison. His premature release is being viewed as a brownie point scored by the ruling dispensation in Bihar, which has set its sights on the Rajput vote bank, in preparation for the next election.

Bihar’s sentence remission rules had permitted the release of those that had served 14 years in prison, but was offset by a clause which prohibited the remission of anyone accused of murdering a public servant on duty. The Bihar government had amended this rule (Bihar Prison Manual, 2012) and removed the clause in order to liberate Mohan. Following this modification, as many as 27 other prisoners who had spent 14 years in jail were set to be freed as per another notification.

Interestingly, Mohan’s supporters had made a beeline to welcome him at the scheduled hour of his release. However, the large gathering became a cause of embarrassment for the government, which feared that it would be tagged with the moniker of celebrating the release of a murderer of a public servant. That’s why the prison officials set Mohan free at an ungodly hour at the crack of dawn and ensured he was beyond state borders before the news media came sniffing at their doors. But the joke was on the public, as Mohan was already out on parole for his son’s engagement.Experts in the legal fraternity believe that Mohan’s remission sets a poor precedent of justice for civil servants across India. The premature release of convicted killers is a slap in the face of the law and order machinery in India, which is often faulted for incarcerating individuals hailing from marginalised communities, as well as minorities, while their oppressors go scot free on account of their political and social clout. In this case, Krishnaiah was a civil servant who hailed from a Scheduled Caste background, a family of limited means. What is also problematic is that public servants will now have to opt for choices knowing fully well, the power wielded by agents such as Mohan.

As far as the Bihar government is concerned, the remission must be reconsidered, and so should be the rules. The Supreme Court also must be approached in order to set restrictions on the discretion employed by state governments to free convicts.