CBI to Move Supreme Court Against Sengar Bail
Unnao gangrape convict walks free after Delhi HC suspends sentence, Opposition erupts
- Delhi High Court suspends Kuldeep Sengar’s sentence, grants bail
- CBI decides to challenge relief in Supreme Court
- Court says POCSO ‘public servant’ clause not applicable
- Rahul Gandhi questions treatment of Unnao survivor
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 25th Dec: The Central Bureau of Investigation will immediately approach the Supreme Court to challenge the Delhi High Court order granting relief to Kuldeep Singh Sengar, the convict in the 2017 Unnao gangrape case.
Sources said the CBI has decided to file a Special Leave Petition after reviewing the High Court’s ruling that suspended Sengar’s sentence and granted him bail pending disposal of his appeal. The decision allows the former MLA to walk free.
The agency and the survivor’s family had strongly opposed Sengar’s bail plea in the High Court, citing serious security concerns. The CBI had filed its reply and written submissions on time, urging the court to deny any relief to the convict.
Sengar was convicted in 2019 for kidnapping and repeatedly raping a minor survivor. He was arrested following directions from the Allahabad High Court, after which the Supreme Court transferred the trial to Delhi and ordered that proceedings be completed within 45 days.
In its order, the Delhi High Court held that Sengar’s status as an MLA at the time of the crime did not make him a “public servant” under the Indian Penal Code. The bench of Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan said that Section 5 of the POCSO Act, which prescribes a 20-year jail term for sexual assault by an authority figure, was therefore not applicable in his case.
The court noted that Sengar has already served seven years and five months in jail, which it described as more than the minimum sentence prescribed under Section 4 of the POCSO Act.
The trial court had earlier treated Sengar as a public servant under the Prevention of Corruption Act and awarded him a life sentence.
The High Court order has triggered massive political outrage. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi questioned the treatment of the survivor, alleging injustice and insensitivity. The survivor and her mother have continued their protest against the bail, and on Wednesday met Gandhi seeking legal support.
“My tears will stop only when his bail is cancelled. Only then will my children eat,” the survivor’s mother was quoted as saying.
