After Being Free, India's Supreme Court Ordered 11 Men Perpetrators Of Murder And Rape To Return To Prison

Illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/howtostarttablogonline.net)

India's highest court on Monday overturned a state government decision that acquitted 11 men, who were convicted of mass rape of a Muslim woman who was pregnant during Hindu-Muslim riots in 2002, ordering them to return to prison.

The men were part of a gang that was sentenced to life in prison for rape in groups against Bilkis Bano, who was then 21 years old and pregnant. The same mob killed 14 members of his family, including his three-year-old daughter.

They were released in August 2022 after serving a sentence of 14 years in prison, following a decision made by an advisory panel formed by the Government of the State of Gujarat, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

But on Monday, India's Supreme Court overturned the decision, ordering the men to report back to the prison authorities within two weeks.

Gujarat's government was "uncompetitive" to issue a remission order when trials and sentences were carried out in Maharashtra State, reads a piece of the court's decision.

The court condemned the Gujarat Government for abusing its authority in releasing 11 inmates without authority.

Bano welcomed the decision by saying he was "chaotic with tears of relief".

"I smiled for the first time in more than a year and a half. I have hugged my children. It feels like a rock as big as a mountain is lifted from my chest, and I can breathe again," Bano said.

When the inmates were released on remission in August 2022, Bano said he felt he had "out of courage". However, he later found strength in solidarity that came from thousands of people across the country.

"You gave me the desire to fight, to save the idea of justice not only for me, but for every woman in India. I am grateful," he said.

This decision was welcomed by Bano supporters, who criticized the release of the man as an attack not only on Muslims but also on women's rights in a country where government data shows a woman being raped every 17 minutes.

"The legal forecast has been restored through this decision. Congratulations to Bilkis and all of us who support and fight for it," Shobha Gupta, Bano's lawyer, said after the ruling.

Meanwhile, Aparna Bhat, an advocate for one of the applicants for the case, also praised the decision.

"We really salute the judge who interprets all the provisions of the law and firmly orders the defendant to surrender," said Bhat.

"This is an extraordinary case and a phenomenal Supreme Court decision," he said.

Bano's crimes occurred in February 2002, when riots erupted between Hindus and Muslims in Gujarat. It was one of the worst religious riots in India, causing the deaths of more than 1,000 people, most of whom were Muslims.

In 2008, after a high-level trial, his attacker was sentenced to life in prison for rape and murder. But in August 2022, the state government granted them remission, based on provisions in the Indian Criminal Procedure Code that allowed prisoners to be released after they served a 14-year sentence.

The decision sparked outrage across India, with protests being held from Kolkata to Mumbai in support of Bano.