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Bilkis Bano Case
Supreme Court Nullifies Premature Release of 11 Life Sentences in Bilkis Bano Case
Supreme Court Rebukes Gujarat BJP Government for Colluding with Prisoners in Early Release; Orders 11 Lifers in Bilkis Bano Case Back to Jail within Two Weeks
In a significant decision on January 8, the Supreme Court annulled the mass remission granted by the State of Gujarat in August 2022 to 11 men convicted of life imprisonment for the gangrape of Bilkis Yakub Rasool and the murder of her family, including a two-month-old infant, during the 2002 riots.
Describing the heinous acts committed against Ms. Rasool, who was pregnant at the time, and her family as a “grotesque and diabolical crime driven by communal hatred,” Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan criticized the ruling BJP government in Gujarat for colluding with the prisoners to facilitate their premature release while “usurping the power” to do so. The court’s judgment on Monday dealt a blow to the Centre, which had previously endorsed the untimely release of these individuals.
