In the International Criminal Court's Statute, victims are placed at the heart of justice. In India, there appears to be no uniform legal compulsion to hear the victims’ views before granting remission to a convict.
In 2011, the Madhya Pradesh government had faced relentless protests over remission granted to five accused. Over a decade later, the Gujarat government is facing increased demand to rescind the remission of the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case.
Gujarat's elections are due in months and nothing is more important to the BJP than winning them; thus appeasement of the majority has been an imperative they could not have resisted.