Rekindling Hope

The Supreme Court verdict in the Bilkis Bano case that rescinded the remission of 11 convicts raises hope for a democratic India

- Tanvir Aeijaz

ESTABLISHING democratic societies on the basis of social justice and truth, particularly by well-meaning socio political institutions, including the judiciary, is not easy. The construction of public conception of moral and psychological ‘‘social good’’ constituting the fundamental character of social justice and truth is also a challenge. The recent verdict by the Supreme Court (SC) in the Bilkis Bano gang-rape and murder case that rescinded the remission of 11 convicts does raise hope for a democratic India based on social justice, even though it seems to be a bit of an oddity nowadays. The judiciary, the Constitution, the rule of law and women’s rights matter; the verdict clearly declares that institutions matter and all is not lost yet. It has rekindled hope and trust in many, particularly those on the margins, and restored in feminists the courage to fight for women’s rights, dignity and the elimination of collective and individual violence against women. The verdict emboldens women’s solidarity movements and empowers social-action litigants for consequential Public Interest Litigations (PILs).

The Case and the Verdict

While fleeing the xenophobic violence during the Gujarat riots (2002), a three-month pregnant Bilkis Bano was gang-raped in front of her mother, and 14 of her family members were hacked to death. She fled, moved from one city to another, and gathered the courage to fight against injustice.