Supreme Court on Monday nullified the remission granted by the Gujarat government to the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano rape case. The Supreme Court on Monday quashed an order passed by the Gujarat government to release 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano rape case. After the verdict, Bilkis Bano expressed her gratitude to the top court and said, “Today feels like a fresh start for me.” In a statement released by her lawyer Shobha Gupta to the Indian Express, Bano said, “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.” Thanking people who supported her in the case, she stated, “I have said before, and I say again today, 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.” In addition, she extended her thanks to her lawyer, Shobha Gupta, acknowledging Gupta’s steadfast support over two decades, which kept her faith and hope in the pursuit of justice alive. She recounted, looking back at the distressing moments that followed the remission, “A year-and-a-half ago, on August 15, 2022, when those who had destroyed my family and terrorised my very existence were given an early release, I simply collapsed. I felt I had exhausted my reservoir of courage. Until a million solidarities came my way. Thousands of ordinary people and women of India came forward. They stood with me, spoke for me, and filed PIL petitions in the Supreme Court.” Support for Bilkis Bano came in various forms, with 8,500 individuals from Mumbai and 6,000 from other parts of the country submitting appeals. Additionally, 10,000 individuals composed an open letter, joined by 40,000 people from 29 districts of Karnataka, all expressing solidarity with her cause. She conveyed her gratitude, acknowledging the people who filed appeals, “You gave me the will to struggle, to rescue the idea of justice not just for me, but for every woman in India. I thank you. 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.” Expressing the family’s emotions, Yaqub Rasool, her husband, expressed their happiness and gratitude for the justice served by the Supreme Court. “The SC order has reinstated our faith in the judiciary of the country and it gives us consolation that justice is alive… But, we know that the convicts will prepare to apply for remission from the other state… We are thankful to the SC that they will be sent back to jail for now,” he told Indian Express. Advocate Gupta, representing Bilkis in the Supreme Court, informed The Indian Express that the apex court considered the extended periods of parole given to the convicts during their time in Godhra sub-jail. Additionally, the court criticised the Gujarat government for using one convict’s order to release all 11 individuals. In the Supreme Court verdict on Monday, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court nullified the remission granted by the Gujarat government to the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano rape case. The court ruled that convicts, who got released last year for “good behaviour”, must return to jail. The convicts have to surrender within two weeks, the top court said, declaring that the exercise of power by the Gujarat government was “without application of mind”. The state was not competent to release the men, since only the state where the trial was held — in this case Maharashtra — is empowered to do this, the judges pointed out.