Supreme Court strikes! Kuldeep Sengar’s bail in Unnao case suspended amid public outcry

A three-judge vacation bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justices JK Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih said the 59-year-old convict should not be released from jail. 

"We are conscious of the fact that when a convict or an undertrial has been released, such orders are not ordinarily stayed by this court without hearing such persons.

"But in view of peculiar facts, where the convict is also convicted for a separate offence, we stay the operation of the Delhi High Court," the top court said as quoted by NDTV. 

The top court’s order came following a challenge by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against the High Court’s decision amid massive public protests opposing the suspension of Sengar’s life term.

The Supreme Court has issued a four-week notice to Sengar and allowed the rape survivor to intervene with her petition, NDTV reported.

Even if the bail had been granted, Sengar would have remained in jail as he is currently serving a separate 10-year sentence for the custodial death of the survivor’s father.

"Kuldeep Sengar should be hanged," the victim's sister told media. The family said they need continued protection as they live under the shadow of threat from the offender and his henchmen. "We have video evidence of the threats," said the survivor's sister. 

The survivor's mother said she is happy with the Supreme Court's intervention and they should be protected from Sengar whose people continued to threaten them.

The 2017 Unnao rape case involved the gang rape of a then-17-year-old girl in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh. Sengar was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2019 for the rape and also convicted in connection with the custodial death of the victim’s father.

On 28 July 2019, a truck rammed into the car carrying the victim, leaving her and her lawyer critically injured and killing two of her family members. The truck’s license plates were blackened, and the police personnel assigned to protect the victim were absent, later claiming there was no room in the vehicle. Together, these factors have fueled widespread suspicion of a deliberate conspiracy aimed at silencing the witness and her family.

The latest controversy comes after disturbing visuals surfaced last week showing the survivor and her mother being detained by CRPF personnel near India Gate.

The family had intended to address the media at Mandi House, but the bus transporting them did not stop. The CRPF later stated that permission to protest had not been granted.

Videos showed the elderly woman attempting to get down as personnel allegedly pushed her from the moving bus, while her daughter remained inside.

The incident has intensified public outrage, increasing pressure on the Centre and law enforcement agencies over both the High Court’s bail order and the handling of the survivor’s family.