Home ministry approved release of Bilkis Bano's rapists: Gujarat govt tells Supreme Court

The apex court is hearing three petitions challenging the release of the men, who walked out of the prison on Independence Day.

In an affidavit filed in the top court, the Gujarat government said the Union Home Ministry had approved the premature release through a letter dated 11.07.2022.

The convicts were released under an outdated remission policy, which triggered a huge political controversy. 

Bilkis Bano has said she was not consulted or informed about the decision.

CPM Politburo member Subhashini Ali, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, and one other person challenged the release in court.

The release of the convicts has triggered a political firestorm with the Opposition slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which rules Gujarat, and its supreme leader Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had stressed women's issues in his customary Independence Day speech.

A group linked to the BJP was also seen garlanding the convicts when they walked out of the jail.

A BJP MLA added fuel to the row saying the convicts were "Brahmins" with "good sanskar".

The controversy reached its peak after Justice UD Salvi, who had convicted the 11 men and sentenced them to a life term in jail by a special court in Mumbai, also raised questions on the release.

Bilkis Bano, who was five-month pregnant in 2002, was gang-raped while fleeing the violence which broke out during the Godhra train carnage.

Days after the release, the survivor had said the state government's order had shaken her belief in the justice system.