Unnao rape survivor calls Sengar bail order ‘death’ for her family, to move SC

The survivor of the 2017 Unnao rape case on Wednesday described the Delhi High Court’s decision to suspend the prison sentence of expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar as nothing short of “kaal” — death — for her family, saying she would immediately move the Supreme Court of India to challenge the order.

A day earlier, the Delhi High Court had suspended Sengar’s life sentence in the rape case and granted him bail while his appeal against a December 2019 conviction is pending. The court imposed conditions barring Sengar from entering a five-kilometre radius around the survivor’s home and from threatening her or her mother, warning that any breach would lead to automatic cancellation of bail.

Despite the order, Sengar will remain behind bars for now, as he continues to serve a separate 10-year sentence in the custodial death case of the survivor’s father, in which he has not been granted bail.

Reacting to the ruling, the survivor — who was a minor when she was abducted and raped in 2017 — said the decision had intensified her fears, particularly as security cover for her family members, lawyers and witnesses had already been withdrawn.

“If a life convict in a case like this can get bail, how will the daughters of this country ever feel safe?” she said in a phone interview from Delhi. “For us, this order is no less than death.”

She alleged that wealth and power continue to tilt the scales of justice. “Those with money win, those without money lose,” she said, adding that she and her mother were on their way to protest near Mandi House against the ruling and would soon file an appeal in the Supreme Court.

Women’s rights activist Yogita Bhayana, who joined the survivor’s mother at a late-night protest near India Gate on Tuesday, shared videos on social media showing the survivor and her mother recounting what they described as harassment by security personnel.

In one video, the survivor claimed she had left home to meet her lawyer and Bhayana to prepare for a Supreme Court filing, but was stopped by CRPF personnel and asked to return home. “I kept shouting that I needed to meet my lawyer,” she said, alleging she was eventually allowed to proceed only after intervention “from the top”. “All I want is justice,” she said in the clip.

Bhayana alleged that the survivor was injured during the commotion and that her mother was pushed out onto the road after protesters were removed from India Gate. A senior police officer disputed these claims, saying protesters were moved from the site around 8.45 pm and placed in a CRPF bus, with no further action taken.

Bhayana said the survivor was living in constant fear and that the court’s decision had only worsened her sense of vulnerability.

The Unnao rape case and related proceedings were shifted from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi in August 2019 on the directions of the Supreme Court, following concerns over witness intimidation and safety.

Adding to the growing chorus of criticism, Asha Devi, mother of Nirbhaya, who was gangaraped and murdered in 2012, extended her support to the Unnao survivor and her family, calling the high court’s decision “unfortunate” and deeply troubling.

Granting bail to a life convict in a rape case, she warned, would embolden offenders and erode public faith in the justice system. “How can such a person be released?” she asked. “This opens the door for other rape convicts to seek bail and sends a dangerous message to society.”

She said the protests were justified and urged the judiciary to reconsider. “What the victim’s family wants is justice. What has happened is injustice — not just to them, but to every woman and girl in this country.”

With PTI inputs