Unnao rape case: CBI challenges Kuldeep Sengar's bail, files Special Leave Petition in Supreme Court

New Delhi: The CBI on Friday filed a Special Leave Petition in Supreme Court, challenging the Delhi High Court order in the Unnao rape case in which former BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar's sentence was suspended and granting him bail.

The order in the 2019 case had attracted criticism with the rape survivor protesting at the India Gate and her mother and other activists in front of Delhi High Court.

A CBI spokesperson said that the agency has filed the SLP in the Supreme Court after studying the High Court order. Sengar was sentenced to life imprisonment with a fine of Rs 25 lakh.

The High Court's order came against the backdrop of an appeal Sengar filed seeking overturning his conviction as well as a petition seeking suspension of sentence.

The spokesperson said the CBI as well as the survivor had vehemently opposed Sengar's petitions.

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday suspended the sentence of Sengar, who is serving a life term in the case, and ordered his release on bail pending the disposal of his appeal against his conviction by a trial court. However, Sengar will have to remain in jail as he is also serving a 10-year sentence in connection with the custodial death of the survivor's father and has not got bail in that case.

The removal of the survivor from India Gate where she was protesting on December 23 had attracted criticism. She also met Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and demanded that they help her family relocate to a Congress-ruled state and find a senior lawyer who could argue her case in the apex court.

On Friday, her mother along with activists of All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) staged a protest outside the High Court, holding placards and raising slogans like 'Balatkariyo ko sanrakshan dena bandh karo' (stop protecting rapists) and 'Gunehgaron ko bachana band karo' (stop protecting rapists and convicts).

The survivor's mother said she had come for the protest as her daughter had endured immense suffering. She said she was not blaming the entire High Court, but only the two judges whose decision has shattered their trust.

“This is an injustice towards our family. We will approach the Supreme Court, as I have faith in it,” she was quoted by PTI as saying.