‘This is what justice feels like’: Bilkis Bano after Supreme Court ruling; Full text inside
Justice BV Nagarathna said that the petition filed is maintainable and women deserve respect.
Full statement from Bilkis Bano: “Today is really the new year for me. I cried tears of relief. I laughed for the first time in over a year and a half. I hugged my children. It feels like a rock the size of a mountain has been lifted from my chest and I can breathe again. This is what justice feels like. I thank the Honorable Supreme Court of India for giving me, my children and women everywhere, this vindication and hope in the promise of equal justice for all.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again today: journeys like mine can never be made alone. I have had my husband and my children by my side. I have had friends who gave me so much love in a time of so much hate, and who held my hand through every difficult situation. I have had an extraordinary lawyer, Advocate Shobha Gupta, who has stood by me unwaveringly for over twenty years and who has never made me lose hope in the idea of justice.
A year and a half ago, on August 15, 2022, when those who had destroyed my family and terrorized my existence were released early, I simply collapsed. I felt like my supply of courage was exhausted. Until a million solidarity actions came my way. Thousands of ordinary people and women from India came forward. They stood with me, spoke for me and filed PIL petitions in the Supreme Court. 6000 people from all over the world and 8500 people from Mumbai wrote appeals; 10,000 people wrote an open letter, as did 40,000 people from 29 districts of Karnataka. To each of these people: my thanks for your precious solidarity and strength. You gave me the will to fight, to save the idea of justice, not just for me, but for every woman in India. Thank you.
Even as I absorb the full meaning of this judgment for my own life and that of my children, the dua that emerges from my heart today is simple: the rule of law above all else and equality before the law for all.”
The Supreme Court on Monday quashed the remission of the eleven convicts from 2022 and they must return to prison within two weeks of the verdict.
The eleven convicts who were released prematurely were Bakabhai Vohania, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Govind Nai, Jaswant Nai, Mitesh Bhatt, Pradeep Mordhiya, Radheshyam Shah, Rajubhai Soni, Ramesh Chandana and Shailesh Bhatt.