The Supreme Court on Monday (December 29) stayed the bail of expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kuldeep Sengar, the convict in the 2017 Unnao rape case. The survivor welcomed the SC’s verdict.
Expressing happiness over the SC’s ruling, the survivor said that she had faith in the top court and also demanded death penalty for Sengar.
“I am very happy. I had faith in the Supreme Court. I will ensure that he is given a death sentence,” she told media.
The survivor’s mother also welcomed the SC’s decision. “I want to thank the Supreme Court for this verdict. The Supreme Court has done justice to me. My family needs security. Our advocates need security. I request that the government keep us all safe. I always used to say that I had faith in the Supreme Court. The two judges of the High Court did us an injustice. They broke my faith in the High Court,” she told ANI.
Reacting to the Supreme Court’s order, senior advocate Mehmood Pracha, who represented the survivor, stated that the order provided only “a small breathing space” for the survivor and her family, who had lived under persistent fear for years. Referring to Sengar as a member of what he termed the “Indian Epstein Gang,” Pracha alleged the existence of a powerful network backing the convict.
Earlier in the day, the top court stayed the bail order of the Delhi High Court. A vacation bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, and Justices J K Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih also issued notice to Sengar seeking his response on the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI’s) plea challenging the high court order.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared for the CBI. He urged the bench to stay the high court order. The SC bench said it would examine the matter as it required consideration, reported PTI. It also stated that Sengar should not be released from custody following the high court’s December 23 order.
On December 23, the Delhi High Court granted conditional bail to the expelled BJP leader in the rape case. he High Court had imposed stringent conditions on Sengar. He has been directed not to enter within a five-kilometre radius of the survivor and to remain in Delhi for the entire period of bail. The court also ordered him to report to the police every Monday.
After the HC granted conditional bail to the expelled BJP leader, the survivor and her relatives staged protests in Delhi. The survivor had even called the suspension of Sengar’s jail term as “kaal (death) for her family”. The expelled BJP leader is also serving 10 years’ imprisonment in the custodial death case of the victim’s father and was granted bail in that case.
The survivor was a minor when she was kidnapped and raped by Sengar in 2017. Sengar is alos serving 10 years of imprisonment in the custodial death case of the victim’s father and has not been granted bail in that case. On December 16, 2019, the expelled BJP leader was convicted in the case.
