Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Monday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the Supreme Court quashing the Gujarat government's decision to grant remission to 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case, saying the verdict has shown once again who the "protector of criminals" is, reported news agency PTI.

Earlier in the day, the apex court said the Gujarat government abused its power in grating the remission to the men convicted of gang-raping Bilkis Bano and murdering seven of her family members during the 2002 riots, and ordered that they be sent back to jail within two weeks, reported PTI.