The Supreme Court of India has provided a crucial intervention in the high-profile Unnao rape case, staying a Delhi High Court order that had granted bail to the convicted former BJP leader, Kuldeep Singh Sengar. The survivor, in a significant development, has expressed her gratitude to the apex court while simultaneously raising a grave alarm over new threats to her family's safety.
Supreme Court Intervenes, Survivor Voices Relief and Fear
On Monday, a three-judge vacation bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and including Justices JK Maheshwari and A.G. Masih, heard a plea from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The agency was challenging the Delhi High Court's December 23 order that had suspended Sengar's life sentence in the rape case pending his appeal and granted him bail.
The bench promptly stayed the operation of the High Court's order. It noted the "peculiar circumstances" that Sengar remains in custody for a separate conviction under Section 304 (murder) of the IPC. "The respondent shall not be released," the bench directed.
Following this order, the survivor spoke to the media, calling the Supreme Court's decision a "big relief." However, her statement quickly turned to a distressing new concern. She revealed that videos of her husband are being circulated publicly from his social media account. "My video is being taken from my husband's social media account and being shared publicly so that he can be identified and killed," she was quoted as saying. She added that her husband is terrified and that no action has been taken to address this threat.
Legal Counsel Alleges Pattern of CBI Non-Cooperation
Adding another layer of complexity to the case, the survivor's counsel, Advocate Mehmood Pracha, made serious allegations against the investigating agency on Monday. He claimed that the CBI is not cooperating with the survivor's legal team in the ongoing proceedings.
Pracha stated that the agency withheld crucial documents until the last moment, a tactic he alleges is not an isolated incident. "This has been a strategy not only in this case but also in the Hathras case," he remarked, drawing a parallel to another highly sensitive rape and murder investigation in Uttar Pradesh. He accused the CBI of living up to his expectations "that they would hide things from us."
The Supreme Court has issued a notice to Sengar, seeking his response to the CBI's plea within a period of two weeks.
The Long Road of the Unnao Case
Kuldeep Singh Sengar, a former Uttar Pradesh MLA, was convicted in December 2019 for the rape of the woman in Unnao in 2017. He was sentenced to life imprisonment along with a hefty fine of ₹25 lakh. Despite the recent bail order in the rape case from the High Court, he has remained incarcerated because he is concurrently serving a 10-year sentence in a separate CBI case related to murder.
The survivor's journey has been marked by immense tragedy, including a fatal car accident in 2019 that was widely seen as an attempt on her life, which claimed the lives of two of her aunts and left her and her lawyer critically injured.
The latest developments underscore the continuing legal battles and security challenges faced by survivors seeking justice in India, even after a conviction has been secured. The Supreme Court's stay order ensures Sengar remains behind bars for now, as the survivor fights on both legal and personal safety fronts.
