'A woman deserves respect': Top 10 quotes from Bilkis Bano case verdict

The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday quashed the Gujarat government order that granted remission to 11 men convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for gangraping Bilkis Bano and murdering 14 members of her family during the 2002 communal riots in the state.

A bench comprising Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan held that the Supreme Court's order in May 2022 directing the Gujarat government to decide the remission was secured by suppressing facts and fraud played on the court.

1. State of Gujarat acted in complicit with the convicts and it was this very apprehension which led to this court to transfer the trial out of the state.

2. If the convicts can circumvent the consequences of their conviction, peace and tranquillity in the society will be reduced to a chimaera.

3. Courts have to be mindful not just of the spelling of justice but also of the content of it.

4. No one, howsoever high, is above the rule of law, and the rule of law has to be preserved in a democracy with no role for compassion and sympathy to play.

5. A woman deserves respect, howsoever, low she is regarded in society or whichever faith she follows.

6. By suppressing material facts and making misleading facts, a direction was sought by a convict to the state of Gujarat to consider remission.

7. There was no direction from this court to the Gujarat government to consider remission. This is a fraud act.

8. The government of the state (Maharashtra) where the offender was sentenced is the appropriate government to grant remission and not the government of the state (Gujarat) where the offence took place.

9. The exercise of power by the State of Gujarat is an instance of usurpation of power and abuse of power.

10. It is the duty of this court to correct arbitrary orders at the earliest and to retain the foundation of trust of the public.

In February 2002, there were riots in Gujarat after the Sabarmati train carrying 'karsevaks' was burnt in Godhra, in which fifty-nine 'karsevaks' were killed in the train.

Fearing violence, then five-months pregnant Bilkis Bano fled from her village Randhikpur with her three-year-old daughter and 15 other family members. They sought refuge in the Chhaparvad district.

However, on March 3, 2002, a group of around 20-30 people armed with swords and sticks attacked Bilkis and her family. Among the attackers were the 11 men accused of raping her. Bilkis, along with her mother and three other women were raped and assaulted while the mob killed her three-year-old daughter.

Of the 17-member group of Muslims from Radhikpur village, eight were found dead, six were missing. Only Bilkis, a man, and a three-year-old survived the attack, a report by The Indian Express said.

After Bilkis regained consciousness, she borrowed clothes from an Adivasi woman and registered a complaint at the Limkheda police station. She was then taken to a public hospital for examination only after she reached the Godhra relief camp.