Men raped Bilkis Bano and killed seven of her relatives, including her three-year-old daughter, amid the 2002 Gujarat riots.
- The men were released in 2022 on the recommendation of the prison.
- The court orders the men to surrender within two weeks.
- Gujarat lacks jurisdiction to reduce sentence, says court.
India’s Supreme Court on Monday overturned the reduced life sentences given to 11 Hindu men who were convicted of raping Bilkis Bano and killing her relatives in 2002 during anti-Muslim protests in the Indian state of Gujarat.
The court ordered the men to appear before prison officials within two weeks, adding: “Their petition for protection of their liberty is rejected.”
Bilkis, now 40, was subjected to a brutal gang rape while five months pregnant during the deadly anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat, India, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the state’s then chief minister.
The riots claimed the lives of more than 2,000 people, most of them Muslims.
The men killed seven of Bilkis’ relatives, including her three-year-old daughter, whose head was smashed into the ground by the perpetrators in Gujarat’s Dahod district, according to Al Jazeera.
In August 2022, the Gujarat government released the men, convicted in 2008, after the prison recommended their release, taking into account the sentence they had served and their good behavior.
However, his release faced criticism from the victim’s husband, lawyers and politicians, leading to several petitions being filed with the Supreme Court, including one from Bano herself, challenging his remission.
The court ruled on Monday that Gujarat lacked jurisdiction to reduce the sentence imposed because the trial of the case was transferred to Mumbai, the country’s financial center.
According to the court, the Gujarat government lacked authority to grant remission orders to convicts.
The 11 men and the state government did not immediately respond to the verdict.
