Unnao Rape Case: Sengar To Remain In Jail As SC Stays Bail; Survivor’s Lawyer Says ‘This Is Not Victory’

The Supreme Court has stayed the Delhi High Court’s order granting bail to former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the Unnao rape case. The survivor’s lawyer, Mehmood Pracha, said the decision offers only temporary relief and criticised the CBI for not fully presenting the victim’s case.

The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Delhi High Court’s order suspending the life sentence of expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case involving a minor, a move that the survivor’s counsel described as offering only temporary relief.

Reacting to the decision, Mehmood Pracha, lawyer for the Unnao rape survivor, said the stay had given the victim a brief pause but fell short of a real victory. “I can assure the victims that we have some relief. This should not be called victory, but we have got a little time to breathe,” Pracha said.

He criticised the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for what he described as a narrow approach before the apex court and for failing to consult the survivor’s legal team. “CBI took a stand on a very limited point and did not raise our strongest grounds of argument. CBI did not consult us at all. There is so much evidence in favour of the victim that any court would give a verdict in her support,” he said.

Pracha further argued that the Supreme Court had not examined the substantive merits of the case. “The court did not hear us on the main merits. CBI has just discussed the iceberg of the case; we have the entire matter with us. CBI did not make us a party in this case. We cannot treat this judgment as a victory for the victim,” he added.

Expressing anguish over the survivor’s circumstances, he questioned whether the order amounted to meaningful relief. “I will leave it to the people of the country and the legal fraternity to gauge for themselves if this is a big respite for us. I would say no. Do you want me to be happy when the girl has been taken away by the CRPF? I don’t even get a chance to speak to her about the order, so do you think I will be happy?” Pracha said.

The Supreme Court’s three-judge vacation bench, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and comprising Justices J.K. Maheshwari and A.G. Masih, was hearing the CBI’s plea against the Delhi High Court’s 23 December order granting Sengar bail and suspending his life sentence pending appeal.

While staying the High Court’s order, the apex court noted that Sengar remains in custody in another case. “We are informed that the convict is also convicted and sentenced under Section 304 (murder) of the IPC and that he is still in custody in that case. Considering such peculiar circumstances, we stay the operation of the impugned order. The respondent shall not be released,” the bench observed.

The court also issued notice to Sengar, directing him to respond to the CBI’s plea within two weeks.

Sengar, a former Uttar Pradesh MLA, was convicted in December 2019 in the Unnao rape case and sentenced to life imprisonment along with a fine of ₹25 lakh. Although the High Court granted him bail in the rape case, he continues to remain in prison as he is serving a 10-year sentence in a separate CBI case related to murder.

(With ANI inputs)