Bilkis Bano Rape Case: Supreme Court Quashes Remission Of Sentence For Convicts

The Supreme Court cancelled the remission of sentence granted to the convicts in the Bilkis Bano rape case, ruling that the Gujarat government was not the competent authority to take that decision.

The top court also ruled that public interest litigations challenging the remission are "maintainable".

The Gujarat government could not have released the convicts under 1992 policy as they aren’t competent to decide on the remission, the Supreme Court said. The Maharashtra government had to decide on the release of the culprits since it's the state where the convicts were tried, it said.

The top court ordered all 11 convicts to be sent back to jail and asked them to surrender in two weeks.

Bilkis Bano was 21 years old and five months pregnant when she was gang-raped while fleeing the horror of the communal riots that broke out after the Godhra train-burning incident. Her three-year-old daughter was among the seven family members killed in the riots.

All 11 convicts were granted remission by the Gujarat government and released on Aug. 15, 2022.