The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court, challenging the Delhi High Court’s order suspending the life sentence of former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and granting him conditional bail in the infamous 2017 Unnao rape case.
This development, reported across major outlets, counters the High Court’s Tuesday ruling by Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, which imposed strict conditions including a Rs 15 lakh bail bond, a ban on entering within five kilometres of the survivor’s Delhi residence, no contact with her or her family, and weekly reporting to police stations.
Sengar, convicted in December 2019 for raping a minor and sentenced to life imprisonment, remains in custody serving a separate 10-year term for the custodial death of the survivor’s father.
The CBI’s move follows widespread protests by the survivor, her mother, and women’s rights groups amid public outrage; the victim has vowed to file her own Supreme Court appeal.
CBI opposes the suspension citing robust trial evidence, while Sengar’s counsel argued discrepancies in the survivor’s age documents, reliance on medical evidence, and his non-public servant status at the time of the offence.
High Court Ruling and CBI Response
The Delhi High Court suspended Sengar’s life term imposed under POCSO Act and IPC sections for the aggravated rape of a minor pending his January 2020 appeal, after he had served over seven years in jail.
The bench noted he did not qualify as a “public servant” for enhanced penalties, a key argument by his lawyers Senior Advocate N Hariharan and SP Tripathi.
They contended “discrepancies” in age-related documents warranted medical evidence priority, portraying Sengar as unfairly detained. Conditions aim to protect the survivor, but critics decry them as insufficient.
A CBI spokesperson elaborated: “CBI has studied the orders passed by the High Court’s division bench and has decided to file an SLP in the Supreme Court against the orders granting bail to the accused Kuldeep Sengar by suspension of the sentence.”
This underscores the agency’s commitment to upholding the trial court’s conviction. Advocate Mehmood Pracha, representing the survivor, fiercely opposed the plea, stating there had been “serious threats” to her life previously, including withdrawn security cover.
He highlighted her father’s brutal assault in police custody leading to his death and Sengar’s separate conviction therein, humanising the family’s trauma: “The survivor has endured unimaginable pain; this bail risks her safety anew.” Protests erupted immediately, with the survivor expressing fury: “Justice cannot be suspended like this.”
Unnao Case: A Timeline of Horror and Injustice
The saga unfolded in June 2017 in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, when 17-year-old survivor accused then-BJP MLA Sengar of kidnapping her from her village, raping her at his residence, and later selling her for Rs 60,000 before her recovery.
Her family faced relentless harassment: police refused FIRs initially, her father was jailed on fabricated charges, beaten in custody, and died from injuries prompting Sengar’s 10-year sentence in 2020. A devastating truck ramming in 2019 killed two of her aunts and injured her, leading to Supreme Court intervention that transferred the case to Delhi and ordered CBI probe.
Sengar, expelled from BJP in 2019, faced multiple charges across four FIRs, including abduction and murder conspiracy (from which he was discharged in 2021). Prior interim bails totalled just 23 days, repeatedly contested by CBI and the victim.
Recent High Court observations flagged CBI investigation lapses noted by the trial court, such as delayed evidence collection, which disadvantaged the prosecution. The survivor, now in her mid-20s, continues living under shadows of fear, her story symbolising systemic failures for women in power imbalances.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
This unfolding drama exposes cracks in India’s justice delivery, where procedural pauses can retraumatise survivors and erode public faith, especially when powerful figures seem shielded.
The Logical Indian champions empathy, kindness, and harmony by urging a system that prioritises victim protection, swift accountability, and dialogue over delays fostering coexistence through reforms like specialised fast-track courts and robust witness safeguards.
