Supreme Court of India mandates 11 men convicted of murder and gang rape to return to prison following premature release

India's highest court overturned a state government's decision to release 11 men who had been convicted of gang-raping a pregnant Muslim woman during Hindu-Muslim riots in 2002. The court ordered for the men to be returned to prison. The men had been part of a Hindu mob that was sentenced to life in prison for the gang rape of 21-year-old Bilkis Bano, who was pregnant at the time. The mob also killed 14 members of her family, including her 3-year-old daughter.

The men were released from their 14-year sentence in August 2022 based on a decision by an advisory panel appointed by the Gujarat state government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). However, the Supreme Court of India revoked this decision on Monday and ordered the men to return to prison authorities within two weeks.

The Gujarat government was "lacking in competency" to pass the remission orders as the trial and sentencing happened in the Maharashtra state, the court ruled.

Bilkis Bano, an Indian rape survivor, expressed her reaction to a press conference in New Delhi on May 8, 2017. In a significant legal decision on May 4, an Indian court convicted five police officers and two doctors for tampering with evidence in the gang rape of a pregnant woman and the murder of her family during one of the worst incidents of religious unrest since independence. Bano was subjected to a gang rape and seven of her relatives were killed during religious riots in the western state of Gujarat in 2002. / AFP PHOTO / Prakash SINGH(Photo credit should read PRAKASH SINGH/AFP via Getty Images)

Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images

Her rapists were sentenced to life in prison. Now theyre free, and shes in hiding

Bano's supporters celebrated the decision, calling it a victory for both Muslims and women's rights in a country where government data reveals a woman is raped every 17 minutes. "This judgment has restored the rule of law. Congratulations to Bilkis and to all of us who supported and fought for her," stated Shobha Gupta, Bano's lawyer, following the ruling on Monday.

Aparna Bhat, an advocate for one of the petitioners, also applauded the ruling, describing it as an extraordinary case and a phenomenal judgment by the Supreme Court. The crimes against Bano occurred in February 2002 during a period of escalated tensions between the majority Hindu and minority Muslim communities in Gujarat.

The riots in India were among the worst religious conflicts, resulting in the deaths of over 1,000 individuals, the majority of whom were Muslims. A formal inquiry concluded that Modi, who was the chief minister of Gujarat at the time, was not responsible for the riots.

During the trial, Bano recounted how the men brandished swords, sticks, and sickles as they charged towards them. One of them brutally assaulted her young daughter by slamming her onto the ground. Bano herself was then raped by three men while the others attacked her relatives. The traumatic ordeal left her unconscious, only to wake up hours later surrounded by lifeless bodies.

Following a highly publicized trial in 2008, the perpetrators were handed life sentences for their heinous crimes. However, in August 2022, the state government invoked a provision in India's Code of Criminal Procedure that allows for prisoners to be released after serving 14 years. This decision resulted in the remission of their sentences.

The release of the men sparked widespread outrage in India, leading to protests in cities from Kolkata to Mumbai in support of Bano. Critics argued that the decision was influenced by politics, misogyny, and religious bias.