“Naari Ka Samman”, Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee welcomes SC verdict on Bilkis Bano

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee welcomed the Supreme Court judgement setting aside the Gujarat government's remission to the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano rape case, calling it a ’victory of truth’.

“I welcome the Supreme Court judgement. We thank the apex court for giving justice to Bilkis Bano. The convicts are out in open, roaming around as free men while a woman kept suffering. This is unfortunate that convicts were let off by Gujarat Government” said Mamata Banerjee on Monday during her visit to Gangasagar mela. 

When asked about the observations of the Supreme Court on Gujarat government, Banerjee slammed BJP and called it their nature to insult women and reward those who outrage ‘naari ka samman’. She drew reference to the ongoing controversy over the Wrestling Federation Of India that saw Olympic medalist and woman wrestler Sakshi Malik quit wrestling in protest against BJP MP and former WFI president Brij Bhushan Saran Singh accused of sexual harassment 

“Instead of giving justice to the victim, they reward the culprits. Just not the case of Bilkis Bano, look what they have down to our Sakshi Malik. Those who outraged the women were  rewarded and made the president. This is happening everywhere. Everyone is watching everything. These things are unacceptable”, she added. 

Supreme Court on Monday observed that Gujarat Government had “acted in tandem and was complicit” with the rape convicts. 11 men convicted of gang-raping pregnant Bilkis Bano during Gujarat riots in 2002, were granted remission on August 15, 2022 by the Gujarat Government. Those men were also part of a mob that had killed 14 members of Bilkis Bano’s family, including her 3-year-old daughter. While sentenced to life imprisonment, but in August 2022 they were released after serving 14 years of their sentence. That decision was taken by an advisory panel set up by the Gujarat state government. Multiple petitions were filed before the Supreme Court including one by Bilkis Bano herself, challenging the remission. The apex court on Monday said that the state government had acted beyond its jurisdiction and the petition based on which Gujarat government had grated the 11 convicts remission was “obtained by fraud”. 

“Government of State of Gujarat (respondent No.1 herein) had no jurisdiction to entertain the applications for remission. Rule of law is breached because the Gujarat government usurped power not vested in it and abused its power. On that ground also, the remission orders deserve to be quashed...We strike down the remission orders on the ground of usurpation of power by the Gujarat government," the bench said.

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