Delhi HC Decision No Less Than 'Kaal': Unnao Rape Survivor To Move Supreme Court Against Bail To Convict Sengar

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court's decision to suspend life sentence awarded to 2017 Unnao rape case convict Kuldeep Singh Sengar has come as a shocker for the survivor, who termed the verdict as "kaal" (death) for her family.

Tuesday evening, the survivor and her mother along with women activist Yogita Bhayana staged a protest near India Gate here protesting the court decision. Police, however, intervened and removed them from the protest site.

The survivor expressed dissatisfaction over the verdict, and questioned why the security provided to her family, lawyers and witnesses has been withdrawn. She said she will now knock the doors of Supreme Court to seek justice.

The survivor said, "I heard the judgement, I felt very bad. I wanted to kill myself then and there, but I stopped after thinking about my family. Injustice has been done to us... Elections are coming, and he has been released on bail so that his wife can contest the polls. If such a rape accused will come out, how will we be safe? How will the country's daughters remain safe? His bail should be cancelled, and he should be sent to jail. We will go to the Supreme Court. I have faith in the Supreme Court. We are scared that he has been released...For us, this decision is no less than 'kaal' (death)."

She further said that she has young children besides her elderly, disabled mother-in-law and husband. “The safety of my children is the biggest concern," she said.

Reacting to the high court's verdict, the survivor said that she was not satisfied with it. She alleged that her family had to constantly make rounds of the court during the trial. "Usually, a verdict is pronounced within two or three days after the conclusion of arguments. But in this case, the decision came after three months. Even before the verdict, security for the family and witnesses was withdrawn," she alleged.

The survivor further said, "In the serious crime where my father was murdered and I was subjected to rape, the accused is granted bail after serving a few years in prison. What kind of justice this is?" The survivor is currently in Delhi.

In her reaction, Bhayana said, "They have faced a lot of difficulties from the beginning... What has happened today that the accused was given bail?... Rapits are getting bail, and innocents are being kept in jail. No one is standing with them today... They are under threat after he has been released on bail...."

Sengar was serving life imprisonment in the 2017 rape case. Suspending Sengar's jail term till the pendency of his appeal challenging his conviction and sentence in the rape case, the Delhi High Court imposed several conditions while granting bail.

It directed Sengar to furnish a personal bond of Rs 15 lakh with three sureties of like amount. Further, it directed that Sengar will not come within a five-kilometre radius of the survivor's residence and shall remain in Delhi for the duration of the bail. The court also clarified that any violation of the conditions would lead to cancellation of bail.

Sengar has also been directed to report to the local police station every week, not to threaten or influence the survivor or her mother, and to deposit his passport with the trial court.

Suspending the sentence until disposal of the appeal, the High Court Bench directed that Sengar's criminal appeal and connected application be listed before the appropriate roster Bench on January 15, 2026, subject to the orders of the Chief Justice, who is the master of the roster. However, despite the grant of bail in the rape case, Sengar is unlikely to walk out of jail as he is serving a separate 10-year sentence in cases linked to the death of the survivor's father in 2018.

In December 2019, the trial court convicted Sengar of raping a minor girl and sentenced him to imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life, while also imposing a fine of Rs 25 lakh. The Unnao rape survivor, a minor at the time of the incident, was allegedly kidnapped and raped by Sengar in June 2017. The trial started in August 2019 after the Supreme Court transferred all five cases related to the incident from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi. The Apex Court had directed that the trial be conducted on a day-to-day basis and completed within 45 days. Following his conviction, Sengar was expelled from the BJP and disqualified as a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly.

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1. Unnao Rape Case: Delhi HC Suspends Life Sentence Of Ex BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar, Grants Him Bail