When Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi Said He “Did Not Find Anything Wrong” About the Early Release of the 11 Convicts in the Bilkis Bano Case

INDIA’S NEW UNION EDUCATION MINISTER, Pralhad Joshi, has become the target of major criticism from opposition parties and social media after his previous comments on the Bilkis Bano case resurfaced. In a statement given to NDTV in 2022, Joshi remarked upon the early release of the 11 men who were convicted of gang-raping Bilkis Bano, her mother and sister, and murdering 14 of her family members in March 2002. In a re-surfaced video clip, Pralhad  Joshi stated to a reporter that he “did not find anything wrong with the decision” as it was “a process of law.”

On August 15, 2022, the 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case were released from imprisonment after one of the convicts, Bhagwandas Shah, filed a remission plea in the Supreme Court, which was granted by the Government of Gujarat.

Pralhad  Joshi’s Comment About the Release of the Bilkis Bano Case convicts

In October 2022, two months after the 11 convicts were released from jail, an NDTV reporter asked Pralhad Joshi about his views on the decision. Joshi stated that he did not find anything wrong in the decision because it was “a process of law." He defended the convicts by saying that there was a legal provision for releasing convicts who had spent “quite some time” in jail. Joshi went to the extent of justifying the release by saying that convicts had already spent a long time in prison and that they exhibited “good behaviour”. 

See also: Bilkis Bano says 'Enmasse premature release of convicts shook the conscience of society'.

Pralhad Joshi's remarks were significant and came under fire because he was a senior Union minister and had justified a highly controversial remission.

The remission of the Bilkis Bano case convicts were later quashed by the Supreme Court. On January 8, 2024, the apex court held that the Gujarat Government was not competent to grant remission to the convicts. All 11 convicts surrendered to the Godhra Sub-Jail in Gujarat by January 21, 2024.

Rahul Gandhi's Criticism Against Pralhad Joshi’s Remarks

While speaking to the media outside the Parliament on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, Rahul Gandhi called Pralhad Joshi as the “defender of rapists,” referring to Joshi’s backing the Bilkis Bano case convicts' early release. Gandhi further called the current Union Education Minister as “the most filthy type of man”, and commented saying that appointing him as the Education Minister was a “strange reaction” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

See also: Uproar Over Priyanka Gandhi's Remarks Against Education Minister Pralhad Joshi, Alleging He defended Rapists

What was the Bilkis Bano Case?

After the Godhra train burning incident of 2002, wherein the Sabarmati Express’s S6 coach was attacked and set aflame near the Godhra railway station in Gujarat, anti-muslim sentiments rose in the state. The tragic incident took the lives of 59 Hindu pilgrims and karsevaks (religious volunteers) who were returning from Ayodhya. While the cause of the fire and attack remain disputed, communal riots broke out in the state with Muslims as the target. 

Amidst rising violence against Muslims, Bilkis Bano, then a 21-year-old pregnant woman, fled from her home along with 16 other family members. Near Randhikpur village in Gujarat's Dahod district, Bano and her family members were attacked by a mob of 20-30 men wielding weapons. Bano, along with her mother and cousin, were gang-raped by some men of the mob, while 14 family members of hers were killed. 

A case was filed by Bilkis in this regard, though she alleged that police investigation into the matter was flawed. She then approached the Supreme Court seeking an independent probe, and the investigation was shifted to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). 

The Supreme Court shifted the trial from Gujarat to Maharashtra, over concerns that a fair trial would be difficult if the proceedings were held in Gujarat. The case was then heard by a special CBI court in Mumbai. In January 2008, the special CBI court in Mumbai convicted 11 men of offences including gang rape and murder. All 11 were sentenced to life imprisonment.

In 2022, the 11 convicts were released prematurely by the Gujarat Government. However, the Supreme Court quashed the decision and the men were put back in prison.

(Proofread by Anshika Verma)

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