(CNN) – On Monday, the Supreme Court of India overturned the decision of the Gujarat state government to release 11 men who were convicted of gang-raping a pregnant Muslim woman during riots between Hindus and Muslims in 2002, and the court ordered them to be returned to prison.
India’s Supreme Court said the Gujarat government “lacked competence” to issue pardon orders, as the trial and sentencing took place in Maharashtra.
The Indian Supreme Court added that the men were ordered to “report to the relevant prison authorities within two weeks from today (Monday).”
The 11 men were part of a Hindu mob in 2002. They were released after serving 14 years of a life sentence for committing one of the most heinous crimes in modern Indian history.
Bilquis Bano was only 21 years old and pregnant when she was gang-raped by a mob, who killed 14 members of her family, including her 3-year-old daughter.
In 2008, after a high-profile trial, her attackers were sentenced to life imprisonment for rape and murder. But in August 2022, the state government granted them clemency, under a provision in India’s Criminal Procedure Code that allows prisoners to be released once they have served 14 years.
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2024-01-08 08:31:41
