India's highest court overturned the decision of a state government to release 11 men convicted of gang-raping a pregnant Muslim woman during the 2002 Hindu-Muslim riots, instructing their return to prison.
These men were part of a Hindu mob that had received life sentences for the gang rape of Bilkis Bano, who was 21 and pregnant at the time. The same mob had also brutally killed 14 members of her family, including her 3-year-old daughter. After serving only 14 years of their sentence, they were released in August 2022 following a decision by an advisory panel established by the Gujarat state government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
However, the Supreme Court of India on Monday nullified that decision, mandating the men to report back to prison authorities within two weeks. The court criticised the Gujarat government, stating that it lacked the competence to issue remission orders since the trial and sentencing had occurred in Maharashtra state. The court condemned the Gujarat government for misusing discretionary powers in releasing the 11 convicts without proper authority.
Bano expressed relief and welcomed the court's ruling, stating that she had "wept tears of relief." She mentioned smiling for the first time in over a year and a half, hugging her children, and feeling as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her chest, allowing her to breathe again.