Supreme Court Gives Justice to Rape Survivor Bilkis Bano

‘The Rule of Law, Above All Else and Equality Before Law, for All,’ She Prays

Newsreel Asia Insight #98
Jan. 09, 2024

Bilkis Bano, who endured a gang rape while five months pregnant and witnessed the murder of 14 family members, including her 3-year-old daughter, in Gujarat in 2002, expresses relief, stating she can finally “breathe” again. This follows the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the premature release of the 11 convicts, a release previously sanctioned by the Gujarat government.

Bilkis Bano, who was 21 years old at the time, became a symbol of the horrific violence against the Muslim minority that swept through Gujarat. In 2008, 11 men were convicted for the rape and murders. However, the Gujarat government, in August 2022, shockingly granted remission to these convicts, leading to their release.

Bilkis Bano, in her own words, felt a sense of utter despair when the convicts were released. “A year-and-a-half ago, when those who had destroyed my family and terrorised my very existence were given an early release, I simply collapsed,” she told The Indian Express.

The Supreme Court’s Jan. 8 judgment has reignited a sense of hope in her. “I have wept tears of relief. I smiled for the first time in over a year-and-a-half. I have hugged my children… I thank the honourable Supreme Court of India for giving me, my children and women everywhere this vindication and hope in the promise of equal justice for all,” the Express quoted her as saying.

“Even as I absorb the full meaning of this verdict for my own life, and for my children’s lives, the dua (prayer) that emerges from my heart today is simple – the rule of law, above all else and equality before law, for all,” she added.

While it is crucial to celebrate Bilkis Bano’s moment of joy, the paradox lies in the fact that praying for a government to uphold the rule of law and ensure equality before law is like expecting almost a miracle, particularly in cases entangled with issues of gender, caste, and religion.

Writing for The New York Times in June 2023, journalist Vidya Krishnan noted that  a woman was raped every 20 minutes in India in 2011, with the frequency increasing to roughly every 16 minutes by 2021, according to government data. In that year, over 31,000 rapes were reported, marking a 20% rise from the previous year, including 2,200 gang rapes, she pointed out. However, these alarming statistics represent only a fraction of the issue, as 77% of Indian women who have endured physical or sexual violence never report it, she said in the article, adding that legal action in such cases is infrequent.

She also wrote in that “gang rape is used as a weapon, particularly against lower castes and Muslims,” commenting further that while Indian men may face persecution for being Muslims, Dalits, ethnic minorities, or for opposing corruption, Indian women are often targeted simply because of their gender.

The Supreme Court rightly criticised the remission, calling it a “classic case” of misusing a Supreme Court order to contravene the law, as reported by The Hindu, which said the Gujarat government had released these men following a May 2022 Supreme Court decision that allowed Gujarat to decide on one convict’s release application. However, the Jan. 8 judgment revealed that crucial facts were concealed from the court, including negative responses from the Maharashtra government, the Central Bureau of Investigation and police regarding the convicts’ release. The court found that this omission influenced its earlier decision and ordered the released convicts to surrender within two weeks.

Bilkis Bano’s lawyer, Advocate Shobha Gupta, remained a pillar of support to her for over 20 years, she recalled, acknowledging also the support she received from thousands across the country. “Journeys like mine can never be made alone. I have had my husband and my children by my side. I have had my friends who have given me so much love at a time of such hate, and held my hand at each difficult turn,” she was quoted as saying.

The solidarity Bilkis Bano mentioned is crucial, given the caste and religion angle. As Journalist Krishnan recalled in her article that politicians had said after the 2022 release of the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case that as “upper-caste Brahmins,” they had “‘good’ values and did not belong in prison.”