In a significant development in the Unnao rape case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has moved the Supreme Court to challenge a recent order by the Delhi High Court. The High Court had suspended the life sentence and granted bail to Kuldeep Singh Sengar, a former Uttar Pradesh MLA convicted in the 2017 Unnao rape case.
The CBI's action comes after reviewing the Delhi High Court's division bench orders related to the case. The central agency filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the apex court against the High Court's order. A CBI spokesperson stated that the decision to file the SLP was made swiftly in response to the High Court's decision to grant Sengar bail by suspending his life sentence.
The Delhi High Court's decision to suspend Sengar's life imprisonment was based on the observation that he had already served seven years and five months in jail. The suspension will remain in effect while his appeal against the conviction and sentence is pending. The High Court also imposed conditions for the bail, including furnishing a personal bond of ₹15 lakh with three sureties of the like amount and directing him not to enter within a five-kilometer radius of the victim's residence in Delhi and not to threaten the survivor or her mother. Furthermore, the High Court held that aggravated offence provisions under Section 5(c) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and Section 376(2) of the Indian Penal Code were not attracted in Sengar's case, as he could not be categorised as a “public servant” within the meaning of those provisions.
Kuldeep Singh Sengar was convicted in 2019 by a special CBI court for the kidnapping and rape of a minor girl in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, in 2017. The case garnered nationwide attention due to allegations of sustained harassment and intimidation of the survivor and her family by Sengar and his associates. The CBI investigated several related cases, including attacks on the survivor's family members, under the Supreme Court's directions. The rape case and related matters were transferred from a trial court in Uttar Pradesh to Delhi on August 1, 2019, following Supreme Court orders.
Despite the suspension of his life sentence in the rape case, Sengar will remain in prison. He is also serving a 10-year sentence, which was imposed in 2020, in a separate case related to the culpable homicide of the survivor's father. He has not been granted bail in that case.
The CBI's decision to appeal to the Supreme Court also considered the safety concerns for the victim's family. The CBI stated that it had filed timely replies and written arguments in the matter and that the victim's family had opposed Sengar's petition, citing safety and threats. The agency had earlier affirmed that it would immediately challenge the High Court's order in the top court, amid protests by the rape survivor and her family. The removal of the survivor from India Gate, where she was protesting the High Court's order, had also drawn criticism. The court found Sengar guilty of rape under section 376 (Rape) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 5(C) and 6 of the POCSO Act, holding that the victim's testimony was 'unblemished, truthful and of sterling quality'.
