Granting remission of sentence is within the government's powers but the 'felicitation' of the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case by some people was distasteful, the judge who convicted them 14 years ago said here on Tuesday.

The Gujarat government's decision to release 11 convicts undergoing life sentence for the gangrape of Bilkis Bano and murder of her family members during the 2002 riots has led to outrage. Some unconfirmed reports also claimed that they were felicitated by local leaders upon release.