On Monday, the Supreme Court of India reversed the life sentence reduction granted to eleven Hindu men convicted of killing Bilkis Bano’s relatives and raping her in 2002 during anti-Muslim demonstrations in Gujarat state.
The men were told to appear before jail officials in two weeks by the court, which also stated that “their plea for protection of their liberty is rejected.”
Bilkis, who is currently in her 40s, was raped viciously by a gang while she was five months pregnant during the anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat, India, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister of the state.
More than 2,000 persons were killed in the riots, the majority of them were Muslims.
Seven of Bilkis’ family members were slain by the men, one of which was her three-year-old daughter, whose head was crushed.
whose head the attackers in Gujarat’s Dahod district smashed into the ground, according to Al Jazeera.
The guys who were found guilty in 2008 were freed by the Gujarati government in August 2022, following a recommendation from the prison for their release based on their good behavior and the amount of time they had spent.
However, the victim’s husband, attorneys, and politicians criticized their release, which prompted multiple Supreme Court petitions—including one from Bano herself—challenging their remission.
The criminal trial was moved to Mumbai, the country’s financial hub, and the court decided on Monday that Gujarat lacked the power to lessen the sentence imposed.
The court ruled that the government of Gujarat was not authorized to issue remission orders for the convicted individuals.
The state’s government and the 11 men did not immediately react to the verdict.
