New Delhi, The Indian Supreme Court is set to deliver its verdict on Monday regarding the contested release of 11 men convicted in the Bilkis Bano case. The men were convicted of raping Bilkis Bano and murdering seven of her family members during the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat.

According to Kashmir Media Service, the verdict will be pronounced by a Bench consisting of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan. The decision comes after the bench reserved its judgment last year following an 11-day hearing. The court had previously instructed authorities to submit the original records related to the convicts’ sentence remission by October 16.

The bench heard arguments from various parties, including Bilkis Bano’s counsel Shobha Gupta, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju representing the Gujarat Government, and senior advocates Indira Jaising and Vrinda Grover for the PIL petitioners. Representing the convicts were senior advocate Sidharth Luthra and Rishi Malhotra.

The Gujarat Government has supported the premature release of the 11 convicts, who were involved in the gang-rape of Bilkis Bano, then 21 years old and five months pregnant, and the killing of her daughter and other family members. This incident occurred on March 3, 2002, in Dahod, amid the violence following the Godhra train burning incident.

The names of the 11 convicts released prematurely on August 15, 2022, are Jaswant Nai, Govind Nai, Shailesh Bhatt, Radhyesham Shah, Bipin Chandra Joshi, Kesarbhai Vohania, Pradeep Mordhiya, Bakabhai Vohania, Rajubhai Soni, Mitesh Bhatt, and Ramesh Chandana.

The remission granted to these convicts has been challenged through multiple Public Interest Litigations (PILs). These include petitions filed by Bilkis Bano herself, CPI-M leader Subhashini Ali, journalist Revati Laul, former vice-chancellor of Lucknow University Roop Rekha Verma, and TMC MP Mahua Moitra.