The Delhi High Court's decision to suspend the life sentence of former BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case has reignited a painful chapter in India's fight for justice for sexual assault survivors. The survivor's defiant statement, "I can’t go back to where I started; this fight can’t end like this," echoes the grim reality that even a conviction can be a temporary setback for the powerful.
A Case Defined by Impunity and Systemic Failure
From its very inception, the Unnao case was a stark demonstration of how power can manipulate the system. In 2017, a young woman, who was a minor at the time, was raped by Kuldeep Sengar, a politically influential figure from Unnao district. The initial police response was to deliberately obscure the crime. The First Information Report (FIR) registered the assault as a case of kidnapping and omitted Sengar's name entirely. For the survivor, the first and monumental hurdle was simply to have a case registered against the powerful local leader.
The persecution of her family began immediately. In 2018, her father was brutally assaulted by thugs for refusing to withdraw the case. He was then arrested on fabricated charges and died in police custody. This custodial death led to a separate trial, where Sengar was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison, a sentence he is currently serving.
The Long and Rocky Road to a Conviction
Despite the intimidation and threats that shadowed her and her family's life, the survivor persisted. Her battle led to Sengar's conviction by a Delhi court in December 2019, nearly two years after the crime. He was sentenced to imprisonment for the remainder of his life for the rape. This verdict was seen as a rare moment of accountability, where a politician's cloak of impunity was seemingly pierced.
However, the recent suspension of this life sentence by the Delhi High Court, five years after the conviction, has delivered a devastating blow. It underscores the painful slowness and halting nature of the judicial process, especially when survivors are pitted against individuals shielded by political and social power.
A Stark Picture of Justice Delayed
While Kuldeep Sengar is not slated for immediate release due to his ongoing 10-year sentence for the custodial death, the suspension of his rape conviction is a symbolic setback. It paints a stark picture of the rocky road survivors must travel. The saga highlights a pattern: police reluctance to record truth, political goons acting with impunity, and a system that often grinds slowly in favor of the connected.
The Unnao survivor's ongoing battle is a sobering reminder of the hierarchies entrenched in society. Her fight transcends her individual case, representing the collective struggle of countless sexual assault survivors who seek justice in an unequal arena. The case continues to question whether the legal system can consistently deliver timely and unequivocal justice when challenged by entrenched power structures.
