NEW DEHLI, India: The Supreme Court has nullified the release granted to 11 Hindu men serving life sentences for gang raping Bilkis Bano and killing her relatives in 2002 anti-Muslim riots in India’s Gujarat.
On Monday, the highest court instructed the 11 individuals to turn themselves in to prison authorities within a fortnight. “Their plea for protection of their liberty is rejected,” it said.
Bilkis Bano, now in her forties, endured a brutal gang rape while five months pregnant during a period of violence that claimed the lives of nearly 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, in one of India’s most severe religious riots. Among the casualties were seven of her relatives, including her three-year-old daughter, tragically killed in Gujarat’s Dahod district when perpetrators smashed her head on the ground.
During this tumultuous time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi served as Gujarat’s chief minister, heading the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which continues to govern the state.
The perpetrators were convicted in early 2008, but in August 2022, the Gujarat government ordered their release, citing time served and good behavior while imprisoned. This decision sparked outrage from the victim’s husband, lawyers, and politicians, leading to multiple petitions, including one filed by Bano herself, challenging the remission.
Recently, the Supreme Court ruled that Gujarat lacked the authority to diminish the sentences as the trial had been moved to Mumbai. The court explicitly stated that the Gujarat government did not possess the competence to issue remission orders for the convicts.
As of now, there has been no immediate response from the 11 men involved or from the Gujarat government regarding the court’s verdict.
