Bilkis Bano case convicts’ release challenged in SC, CJI to consider listing it

The release of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case has been challenged in the Supreme Court. Chief Justice NV Ramana has said he would consider listing the matter.

The convicts – serving life-term sentences in the Gujarat 2002 riots case – were released on Independence Day under the state government’s remission policy.

Their release had triggered a huge outrage nationwide. After they were set free, a statement by Bilkis Bano read: “The release of these convicts has taken from me my peace and shaken my faith in justice. My sorrow and my wavering faith is not for myself alone but for every woman who is struggling for justice in courts.” Bano was fleeing the Godhra violence when she was gangraped. She was 21, and five months pregnant. Her three-year-old daughter was one of the seven people killed during the violence.

After over 15 years in prison, one of the convicts had approached the Supreme Court with a plea for his premature release. The state government was then directed by the top court to look into the issue of remission, following which the government had formed a panel.

A report by HT had highlighted that at least three witnesses in case had filed police complaints between 2017 and 2021 in Gujarat, alleging that at least four out of 11 convicts in the case threatened them when they were out on parole.

The top court was also urged by over 6,000 citizens in a statement to revoke the remission. “The remission of sentences for the 11 men convicted of gang-rape and mass murder will have a chilling effect on every rape victim who is told to ‘trust the system’, ‘seek justice’, and ‘have faith’,” they said in a joint statement. Among those who had signed the statement were activists Syeda Hameed, Zafarul-Islam Khan, Roop Rekha, Devaki Jain, Uma Chakravarti, Subhashini Ali, Kavita Krishnan, Maimoona Mollah, Hasina Khan, Rachana Mudraboyina, and Shabnam Hashmi.