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In a blow to the government that supported the release of the 11 convicts of the 2002 Bilkis Bano rape case during the Gujarat riots, Supreme Court reprimands a flawed system.
The release of 11 convicts in the infamous 2002 Bilkis Bano case highlights the bitter truth that justice remains elusive for most rape survivors in India. Their surprise freeing sparked outrage across the country, leading the Supreme Court to finally intervene.
The convicts had walked free from a Godhra jail on August 15th after the Gujarat government approved their premature release. Adding insult to injury, the BJP-led state government’s shock decision came on India’s Independence Day.
In a welcome move, the Supreme Court has now stepped in to issue notice and stay their release, rapping the state for not consulting the victim as required by law. The SC action came after Bilkis filed a plea challenging the remission granted by the Gujarat government.
In a statement to the Indian Express, through her advocate, Bilkis Bano said, ‘I have wept tears of relief. I smiled for the first time in over a year and half. I have hugged my children. It feels like a stone the size of a mountain has been lifted from my chest, and I can breathe again.’
20-year quest for justice continues
The SC intervention was a relief for Bilkis after a nightmarish 20-year quest for justice. She was 21 years old and five months pregnant when a violent mob attacked her family during the 2002 Gujarat riots. Among the 14 victims were her three-year-old daughter and mother.
Bilkis herself was raped by several assailants and left beside the bodies of her loved ones. Her lonely fight for justice has since seen many ups and downs before this latest reversal by the SC. Earlier abandoned by her own community after the riots, she was left to fend for herself and her orphaned infant daughter.
Her courage eventually paid off as the Mumbai trial court finally convicted the rapists and killers in 2008. The Bombay High Court upheld the conviction in 2017 – the same year the Supreme Court directed the state government to provide her compensation, housing, and a job.
Prominent feminists and activists came down heavily on the premature release of Bilkis’s rapists and killers. Upon learning that those behind her family’s gruesome killings were now walking free, Bilkis was understandably ‘numb’ and ‘bereft of words.’
What is Bilkis Bano case? @MahuaMoitra sums it up to refresh our memories.
Bilkis Bano was raped 22 times, her mother and two sisters were raped. 14 people in total were killed, 7 from her own family including her 3 year old child whose head was smashed and body never found. The… pic.twitter.com/FCcJDOYbwM
— Congress Kerala (@INCKerala) January 10, 2024
‘How can justice for any woman end like this?’ she asked while reiterating her commitment to continue the legal fight. With the Supreme Court intervening after her impassioned plea, Bilkis’s dogged 20-year campaign for justice carries on.
The attackers were greeted by relatives and members of right-wing Hindu groups outside the prison who gave them sweets and touched their feet in a traditional Indian sign of respect.
In close connection with the loopholes in the state’s remission policy, the committee set free the 11 convicts without considering the fate of Bilkis and her family, who lives in close proximity to the homes of these 11 Hindu men.
Others pointed to the cynical politics behind freeing the brutal convicts on Independence Day without consultation. It was likely intended to avoid media glare and public opposition.
The court has since nullified the premature release of the convicts and ordered them to surrender back to authorities in jail within two weeks.
‘This is what justice feels like. I thank the honourable Supreme Court of India for giving me, my children and women everywhere, this vindication and hope in the promise of equal justice for all,’ Bilkis was quoted by the report as saying.
